Chenille Plant

Description

Acalypha hispida, the chenille plant, is a flowering shrub which belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae, the subfamily Acalyphinae, and the genus Acalypha. Acalypha is the fourth largest genus of the family Euphorbiaceae, and contains many plants native to Hawaii and Oceania. It can grow to be 5–12 feet (1.5–3.7 m) tall, and have a spread of 3–6 feet (0.91–1.83 m), with potted plants being the smallest in growth. The plant has become somewhat domesticated, due to the nature and color of its flowers. It can be grown from seeds as well as from cuttings. It can be kept either as an outdoor plant or as a houseplant. However, care should be taken in growing it, as all parts of the plant are poisonous if ingested by animals. The plant is dioecious, and therefore there are distinct male and female members of the species. The female plant bears pistillate flowers which are 0.7 millimeters long and range in color from purple to bright red, and grow in clusters along catkins. This feature is the primary reason the plant bears the nickname “red-hot cat tail”. The pistillates will grow all year long as long as the temperatures are favorable. It is an erect shrub of soft stems cultivated by its precious and tiny flowers of a fiery red which in summer hang on pendulous spikes and resemble the tassels of female plants. The leaves are large, oval and bright green to reddish copper. Acalypha is a genus of flowering plants in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is the sole genus of the subtribe Acalyphinae. It is one of the largest euphorb genera, with approximately 450 to 462 species. The genus name Acalypha is from the Ancient Greek ἀκαλύφη (akalúphē) ("nettle"), an alternative form of ἀκαλήφη (akalḗphē), and was inspired by the 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 and subtropics, with about 60% of species native to the Americas and about 30% in Africa. The genus includes annuals or perennial herbs, shrubs, and small trees. Most are monoecious, and some are dioecious. 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.