Copperleaf

Description

Acalypha wilkesiana, common names copperleaf and Jacob’s coat, is an evergreen shrub growing to 3 metres (9.8 ft) high and 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) across. It has a closely arranged crown, with an erect stem and many branches. Both the branches and the leaves are covered in fine hairs. The leaves, which may be flat or crinkled, are large and broad with teeth around the edge. They can be 10–20 centimetres (3.9–7.9 in) long and 15 centimetres (5.9 in) wide. The leaves are coppery green with red splashes, giving them a mottled appearance. Separate male and female flowers appear on the same plant. The male flowers are in long spikes which hang downwards while the female flowers are in short spikes. The latter do not show up easily as they are often hidden among the leaves. The flower stalks are 10–20 cm long. A. wilkesiana is a tropical and subtropical plant which grows naturally in Vanuatu and occurs in the Pacific Islands. It prefers light well drained soil and is suited to a protected shady position. It can be damaged by both drought and frost. It needs a minimum temperature above 10 °C (50 °F). It is best suited to hardiness zones 10-12. Acaena is a genus of about 60 species of mainly evergreen, creeping herbaceous perennial plants and subshrubs in the family Rosaceae, native mainly to the Southern Hemisphere, notably New Zealand, Australia and South America, but with a few species extending into the Northern Hemisphere, north to Hawaii (A. exigua) and California (A. pinnatifida). The leaves are alternate, 4-15 centimetres (1.6-5.9 in) long, and pinnate or nearly so, with 7-21 leaflets. The flowers are produced in a tight globose 1-2 centimetres (0.39-0.79 in) in diameter, with no petals. The fruit is also a dense ball of many seeds; in many (but not all) species the seeds bear a barbed arrowhead point, the seedhead forming a burr which attaches itself to animal fur or feathers for dispersal. Several Acaena species in New Zealand are known by the common name bidibid. The word is written variously bidi-bidi, biddy-biddy, biddi-biddi, biddi-bid and a number of other variations. These names are the English rendition of the original Māori name of piripiri. The plant is also called the New Zealand burr. The species Acaena microphylla has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. The generic name Acaena is derived from the Greek "akaina" (thorn), referring to the spiny hypanthium.