Acalypha eremorum Mull.Arg.

Euphorbiaceae

Mueller Argoviensis, J. von (1864) Flora oder Allgemeine Botanische Zeitung 47: 440. Type: Queensland, Burdekin River, F. Mueller?; lecto: MEL 707681. Fide Forster (1994).

Native Acalypha; Acalypha

Usually flowers and fruits as a shrub about 1-2 m tall.

Leaf bearing twigs marked by pale longitudinally elongated lenticels. Most leaves borne on minute, lateral, burr-like, short shoots. Leaf blades small, about 17-30 x 6-8 mm, margins deeply crenate, petiole about 1-2 mm long. Lateral veins forming distinct loops inside the blade margin. Stipules linear, to 2.1 mm long.

Males flowers: Flowers in spikes about 20-40 mm long. Flowers about 0.5-0.9 mm diam. aggregated in clusters along the spike. Petals absent. Anther filaments flattened, about 0.3 mm long. Anthers pale, bilobed, anther sacs divaricate. Female flowers: Flowers sessile and solitary. Style divided into three branches each about 3-5 mm long, each style branch divided into two stigmatic branches. Ovary clothed in straight needle-like hairs.

Fruits depressed globose, about 1.5-2 x 2.5-3 mm. Seeds globose to ovoid, about 1.7-1.8 x 1 mm. Testa brown, minutely punctate. Embryo small, cotyledons longer than the radicle.

Features not available.

Endemic to Queensland, occurs in CYP, NEQ, CEQ and southwards as far south as south-eastern Queensland. Altitudinal range from near sea level to 600 m. Grows in open forest but more commonly found in monsoon forest and vine thickets.