Copper Leaf (Acalypha monostachya)

   

Copper Leaf (Acalypha monostachya). Chihuahuan Desert Gardens, Centennial Museum, University of Texas at El Paso. Photograph by Florence E. Schwein.

• Common English Names: Copper Leaf
• Common Spanish Names: Yerba del Cancer
• Scientific Name: Acalypha monostachya (ah-kal-LIE-fuh mon-oh-STAKE-ee-uh) (formerly A. hederacea)
• Family: Euphorbiaceae (Spurge Family)
• Geographic Range: South to central Texas west into the Big Bend of the Trans-Pecos of Texas; northern Mexico.
• Plant Form: Sub-shrub to herbaceous perennial, 18" H x 3' W.
• Remarks: Low mounding groundcover with much branching, hairy stems, and small leaves with short spikes of either small staminate or pistillate flowers, usually on separate plants. Reddish color of stems, leaves, and flower spikes give plant an attractive copper-red color. Low water, full sun, well draining soil, and winter hardy.

Last Update: 2 May 2006