Acalypha virginica

L.

Virginia Three-seed-mercury

G5Secure Found in 3 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
LowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.136432
Element CodePDEUP010L3
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderEuphorbiales
FamilyEuphorbiaceae
GenusAcalypha
Synonyms
Acalypha virginica var. virginica
Other Common Names
Three-seeded Mercury (EN) Virginia Copperleaf (EN) Virginia threeseed mercury (EN)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Taxonomic Comments
This is the record for Acalypha virginica in the narrow sense as treated by Kartesz (1999), not including var. deamii (A. deamii) and var. rhomboidea (A. rhomboidea). This is the same treatment followed by FNA (vol. 12).
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2023-09-18
Change Date1999-05-21
Edition Date2023-09-18
Edition AuthorsNordman, C. (2023).
Threat ImpactLow
Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Virginia Three-seed-mercury (Acalypha virginica) occurs in the eastern United States, its native range is from Massachusetts to Georgia, Texas, and eastern Kansas. It is adventive in the northern part of its range, in the Great Lakes area, northern New England and Ontario, Canada where it is considered to be exotic. There are more than 300 occurrences within its native range, and threat impacts likely are low overall.
Range Extent Comments
Virginia Three-seed-mercury (Acalypha virginica) occurs in the eastern United States, its native range is from Massachusetts to Georgia, Texas, and eastern Kansas. It is adventive in the northern part of its range, in the Great Lakes area, northern New England and Ontario, Canada where it is considered to be exotic. The native range extent was estimated to be 2.2 million square kilometers, using herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1992 and 2023 (Flora of North America Editorial Committee 2016, GBIF 2023, iNaturalist 2023).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium records and photo-based observations documented between 1992 and 2023, it is estimated that there are more than 300 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2023, iNaturalist 2023).
Threat Impact Comments
Threat impacts likely are low overall.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Deciduous and evergreen woods, riverbanks, agricultural fields, and disturbed areas, at 30 - 1200 meters elevation (Flora of North America Editorial Committee 2016).

Reproduction

Flowers and fruits during summer and fall (Flora of North America Editorial Committee 2016).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest/WoodlandGrassland/herbaceousOld fieldCropland/hedgerow
Palustrine Habitats
Riparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
MarylandSNRYes
PennsylvaniaSNRYes
ArkansasSNRYes
District of ColumbiaSNRYes
KansasS4Yes
OklahomaSNRYes
West VirginiaSNRYes
MississippiSNRYes
New HampshireSNRYes
IowaSNRYes
MichiganSNRYes
NebraskaSNRYes
DelawareSNRYes
OhioSNRYes
TennesseeSNRYes
MissouriSNRYes
TexasSNRYes
MassachusettsS1Yes
KentuckySNRYes
North CarolinaS5Yes
South CarolinaS2Yes
New JerseyS4Yes
LouisianaSNRYes
VirginiaS5Yes
New YorkS1Yes
AlabamaSNRYes
ConnecticutS3Yes
IndianaS5Yes
Rhode IslandSNRYes
MaineSHYes
IllinoisSNRYes
GeorgiaSNRYes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
Unknown/undetermined

Plant Characteristics
DurationANNUAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (3)
Arkansas (2)
AreaForestAcres
East ForkOzark-St. Francis National Forest13,037
Pedestal RocksOzark-St. Francis National Forest21,957
Illinois (1)
AreaForestAcres
Ripple HollowShawnee National Forest3,788
References (5)
  1. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2016. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 12. Magnoliophyta: Vitaceae to Garryaceae. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxiv + 603 pp.
  2. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2023. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2023).
  3. iNaturalist. 2023. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2023).
  4. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  5. Kartesz, J.T. 1999. A synonymized checklist and atlas with biological attributes for the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. First edition. In: Kartesz, J.T., and C.A. Meacham. Synthesis of the North American Flora, Version 1.0. North Carolina Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill, N.C.