Acalypha californica

California acalypha

Family: Euphorbiaceae · Type: perennial · Native

California acalypha is a California native perennial found in southern coastal California near San Diego, the Peninsular Ranges, and western desert regions of southern California in rocky slopes, chaparral, and oak woodland at elevations below 1,300 meters. Flowering from January to June, this plant produces small flowers with distinctive red styles and glandular, hairy bracts. Growing with slender stems up to 1.5 meters tall, the plant has a distinctly hairy and slightly glandular appearance. Its leaves are small, about 1 to 2 centimeters long, ovate to nearly triangular with truncate or slightly lobed bases and crenate margins. The fruit is tiny, measuring 1 to 3 millimeters in diameter and covered in fine, soft hairs.

Habitat: Rocky slopes, chaparral, oak woodland

Bloom period: Jan-Jun

Elevation: < 1300 m

Bioregions: s SCo (near San Diego), PR, w DSon

California counties: San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.