shrubby copperleaf

Acalypha phleoides is a member of a large genus in a large family, so its general appearance is shared with quite a few species. Here are key features helping to distinguish Acalypha phleoides from its close relatives:

It is a herbaceous and perennial plant with variously hairy stems up to 5 dm (19+1⁄2 in) long. Leaves with petioles up to 1 cm (1⁄2 in) long arise singly along stems. Blades up to 6 cm × 3 cm (2+1⁄2 in × 1 in) have sharp tips and saw-toothed to wavy-toothed margins. Slender, spike-like, inflorescences consist of unisexual flowers, with male flowers arranged at the top, and female ones lower down. Rarely, modified or "allomorphic" forms of female flowers replace all or part of the male ones. Male flowers bear 4-8 stamens. Female flowers, unlike the male, arise in the axis of conspicuous bracts up to 12 mm (1⁄2 in) long and nearly as wide, with up to 8 well-defined, sharp-pointed lobes. The bracts bear clearly visible stalked glands. The female flower's pistil normally has three compartments, or carpels, though allomorphic ones have only two. Styles are branched or irregularly jagged-looking. Capsular-type fruits are hairy and covered with tiny bumps. Seeds are up to 2 mm (1⁄16 in) long and covered with tiny pits.

Acalypha phleoides mainly occurs in Mexico, though in the Southwestern United States it is found in the states of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, plus at Mexico's southern border it extends into Guatemala.

Among the Otomí people of highland central Mexico's Tlaxcala state, where one of the local common names of Acalypha phleoides is hierba del cáncer ("cancer plant"), Acalypha phleoides is used to treat all kinds of skin problems (granos) as well as cuts. One or two large branches are boiled in a half liter of water (1 pint), set aside to cool, and the affected skin is washed with it. Elsewhere in Mexico,Acalypha phleoides is employed to treat a variety of gastrointestinal problems. In fact, in vivo and in vitro studies tend to support the plant's use as an antispasmodic agent.

The genus name Acalypha is based on the Greek akalephe, meaning "stinging nettle," referring to the general similarity of Acalypha to stinging nettles, though Acalypha species do not sting. The species name phleoides has the Greek suffix -oides, which indicates a resemblance with something; in this case, the grass genus Phleum. The spike-like inflorescences of Acalypha phleoides are vaguely similar to the spike-like panicles of densely packed spikelets of Phleum species.