California Copperleaf, Acalypha californica

About California Copperleaf (Acalypha californica) 10 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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The flowering shrub Acalypha californica is known as the California copperleaf, and sometimes by the older name Pringle three-seeded mercury. It is the only Acalypha species native to California, where it is found from the Peninsular range foothills hills into the lower desert of San Diego County. It is a member of the chaparral plant community and most often grows in crumbling granite rocks, ledges and cliff faces, though it occasionally grows in sand washes. The plant bears beautiful light green serrated leaves with wavy hairy edges. Younger leaves tend to have pink or red edges. Older leaves turn pinkish or copper-colored in summer months. Stems are white, pink or red. Flowers appear as bumpy pinkish red spikes, sometimes with white speckles, growing out from the base of the leaf stems. It typically grows in a rounded mounding form. Beautiful plant but difficult to find in nurseries.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Shrub

Size

1.5 - 3 ft tall
5 ft wide

Form

Mounding

Growth Rate

Slow

Dormancy

Evergreen

Fragrance

None

Flower Color

Pink, Red, White

Flowering Season

Winter, Spring

Wildlife Supported

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 1 likely * ) SHOW ALL

The Gem Orthonama obstipataOrthonama obstipata

Landscaping Information

Sun

Full Sun

Moisture

Extremely Low, Very Low

Summer Irrigation

Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries

Carried by 10

Cold Tolerance

Tolerates cold to 30° F

Soil Drainage

Fast

Soil Description

Typically decomposed granite or sand. Soil PH: 6.0 - 8.0

Companion Plants

Chamise (Adenostema fasciculatum), California Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum), Chaparral Mallow (Malacothamnus fasciculatus), Brittlebush (Encelia species), Desert Agave (Agave deserti), Mojave Yucca (Yucca shidigera), Creosote (Larrea tridentata), Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), and cactus species

Propagation?

For propagating by seed: No treatment. (Emery and Frey 1971).

Sunset Zones?

15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting

Site Type

Near the coast it is often found in conjunction with oak woodlands. Inland it is found in desert transition chaparral near granite rocks, ledges and cliffs, and in sandy washes of desert canyons at the base of granite boulders as part of Creosote Bush Scrub or Alluvial Fan Scrub

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 4.1" - 17.0", Summer Precipitation: 0.18" - 1.40", Coldest Month: 46.0" - 54.9", Hottest Month: 70.1" - 86.4", Humidity: 1.15" - 37.29", Elevation: 27" - 2564"

Alternative Names

Common Names: Pringle Three-seeded Mercury, Pringle Threeseeded Mercury

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

California Copperleaf

Acalypha californica

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California CopperleafAcalypha californica

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California Copperleaf

Acalypha californica