''Acalypha'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae (), the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of Euphorbia, the type genus of the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', ar ...

. It is the sole genus of the

subtribe Subtribe is a taxonomic category ranking which is below the rank of tribe and above genus. The standard suffix for a subtribe is -ina (in animals) or -inae (in plants). The first use of this word dates back to the late 19th century. An example of ...

Acalyphinae. It is one of the largest euphorb genera, with approximately 450 to 462

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

. The genus name ''Acalypha'' is from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

() ("nettle"), an alternative form of (), and was inspired by the

nettle Nettle refers to plants with stinging hairs, particularly those of the genus '' Urtica''. It can also refer to plants which resemble ''Urtica'' species in appearance but do not have stinging hairs. Plants called "nettle" include: * ball nettle ...

-like leaves. General common names include copperleaf and three-seeded mercury. Native North American species are generally inconspicuous most of the year until the fall when their stems and foliage turn a distinctive coppery-red. The genus is distributed mainly in the

tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

and

subtropics The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones immediately to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately ...

, with about 60% of species native to the Americas and about 30% in Africa.

Description

The genus includes annuals or perennial herbs,

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s, and small

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s. Most are monoecious, and some are

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

. Indumentum of simple hair or glands, rarely of stellate hair. The leaves are alternately arranged, undivided, generally petiolate, stipulate; stipels rarely present at apex of petiole or leaf base, caduceus. The blades entire or more frequently dentate or crenate, pinnately or palmately veined. There are several types of

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

, terminal or axillary, frequently both, unisexual or androgynous. Male inflorescences spicate, densely flowered, with several flowers at each node subtended by a minute bract. Female inflorescences generally spicate, sometimes racemose or panicle-shaped, with 1–3(–5) flowers at each node, usually subtended by a large bract, increasing and foliaceous in the fruit, generally dentate or lobed; sometimes subtended by a small bract, entire or lobed, non accrescent in the fruit. Androgynous inflorescences usually with female flowers at proximal nodes and male flower at distal nodes. Flowers unisexual, apetalous, disc absent. Male flowers very small, shortly pedicellate, globose in bud; calyx parted into 4 small valvate sepals; stamens 4–8(–16) on a slightly raised receptacle, filaments free or basally connate; anthers with

divaricate Divaricate means branching, or having separation or a degree of separation. The angle between branches is wide. In botany In botany, the term is often used to describe the branching pattern of plants. Plants are said to be divaricating when th ...

or pendulous thecae, unilocular, more or less elongated and later becoming vermiform; pollen grains oblate-spheroidal, with 3–5 pseudopores, tectate,

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