Acalypha wilkesiana Müll. Arg
Common Name: Copper Leaf, Cat’s Tail, Chenile Plant, Fire-dragon, Foxtail, Java White
A variety of mottled color combinations are green, purple, yellow, orange, copper, crimson, pink, or white.
1. Copper Leaf / Fire-dragan
A tropical, subtropical evergreen shrub. A much-branched monoecious shrub up to 4.5 m. Young shoots tomentose, later puberulous. Petioles (1-) 2-5 (-9) cm long. Leaf-blade broadly ovate, 5-17 (-25) x 5-13 cm, shortly obtusely or acutely acuminate, rounded-cuneate to cordate, crenate-serrate, 7-11-nerved from the base,. sparingly pubescent above and beneath at first, especially along the midrib and main veins, later subglabrescent, often copper- or bronze-coloured, sometimes white- or pink-margined (var. marginata Mill.) or variegated. Stipules subulate, 1-1.5 cm long. Inflorescences axillary, solitary, unisexual, spicate; the males up to 7 cm long, fairly dense-flowered, with a pubescent axis and lanceolate bracts c. 1 mm long; the females up to 12 cm long, lax-flowered, with a puberulous axis; female bracts 7-13-partite, the median lobe broadly ovate and accrescent to 5 mm long and 3 mm wide, the laterals smaller and narrower, 1-flowered. Male flowers sessile; buds tetragonal, pubescent. Female flowers sessile; sepals 3-4, ovate-lanceolate, 1 mm long, acute; ovary subglobose-trilobate, 1 mm diam, densely pubescent; styles united at the base, (5-) 7-9 mm long, laciniate, yellowish-or greenish-white, occasionally reddish. Fruits trilobate, 1.5-2 mm long, 4 mm diam., smooth, pubescent.
2. Java White
Widely grown as an annual in colder areas, this variety will grow up to 4 feet in one season; in frost free areas it can become a large shrub; leaves in shades of yellow-green, blue-green and creamy white are impressive in the garden, or containers. Java White Copper Plant has attractive white-variegated bluish-green foliage with hints of chartreuse which emerges green in spring on a plant with an upright spreading habit of growth. The serrated heart-shaped leaves are highly ornamental and remain bluish-green throughout the winter. Java White Copper Plant is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.
Acalypha wilkesiana is used in for the treatment of headache and cold, the cold extract of the leaves is used to bath babies with skin infection, treatment ofmalaria, and dermatological and gastrointestinal disorders
References
1.https://indiabiodiversity.org/species/show/228577#habitat-and-distribution
2.https://plants.rogersgardens.com/12290002/Plant/19691/Java_White_Copper_Plant/
3.https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/acalypha-wilkesiana/
4.Soladoye MO, Sonibare MA, Rosanwo TO (2008) Phytochemical and Morphometric Analysis of the Genus Acalypha Linn. (Euphorbiaceae). Journal of Applied Sciences. 8, 3044-3049
5.Oyebode OA, Erukainure OL, Koorbanally NA, Islam MS (2018) Acalypha Wilkesiana ‘Java White’: Identification of Some Bioactive Compounds by Gc-Ms and Their Effects on Key Enzymes Linked to Type 2 Diabete. Acta Pharm 68, 425-439
6.Olawuwo OS, Famuyide IM, McGaw LJ (2022) Antibacterial and Antibiofilm Activity of Selected Medicinal Plant Leaf Extracts Against Pathogens Implicated in Poultry Diseases. Frontiers in Veterinary Science. 9, 820304.