Pringle Three-seeded Mercury
Acalypha californica
RANGE: Infrequent near
Organ Pipe National Monument in Arizona. Also in northern Mexico and
southern California. Habitat is partially shady, well watered canyons.
SUB-SHRUB: Mostly herbaceous stems are ½ to 1 meter or more tall and are
reddish in color. Base of plant is woody.
LEAVES: Alternate leaves are light green and have rounded teeth
(crenulate). The leaves may also have a reddish cast especially during the
winter season.
FRUIT: Distinctly three-valved capsules.
FLOWERS: Male flowers are numerous in a catkin-like spike directly above
the one to three female flowers. The female flowers set inside a green,
cup-like brackt and have conspicuous, long, branching stigmas visible in the illustration.
UNARMED