Virginia threeseed mercury facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Virginia threeseed mercury |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Acalypha
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| Species: |
virginica
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Acalypha virginica, also known as Virginia threeseed mercury or Virginia copperleaf, is a plant that belongs to the spurge family. This plant naturally grows in the eastern parts of the United States. You can often find it in open forests and along the edges of rivers. It's a type of plant that grows well in areas where the ground has been disturbed, like in old farm fields.
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About Virginia Threeseed Mercury
What Does It Look Like?
The Virginia threeseed mercury is a plant that grows straight up from the ground. It lives for only one year. It can grow to be about 50 centimeters (almost 20 inches) tall.
This plant has both male and female flowers on the same plant. Its small flowers are greenish and do not have petals. They grow where the leaves meet the stem. You can see these flowers from summer all the way through fall.
How to Tell It Apart
The Virginia threeseed mercury looks a lot like another plant called Acalypha gracilens. Both plants grow in many of the same areas.
However, you can tell them apart by looking closely at their female flower parts. The Virginia threeseed mercury has fuzzy female flower parts that do not have small glands. In contrast, Acalypha gracilens has female flower parts that are only slightly fuzzy and have tiny red glands.
Where Does It Grow?
This plant likes many different kinds of natural places. It especially likes open woodlands and riverbanks. It is a plant that can grow easily in places where the environment has changed. This includes areas like old farm fields or other disturbed spots.
Conservation Status
The Virginia threeseed mercury is generally considered safe and common around the world. It grows in many different places and is found throughout most of its range.
However, it becomes less common at the very edges of where it usually grows. For example, in Connecticut, it is listed as a special concern species. This means people are keeping an eye on it there. In Maine, this plant was only found once in 1902. It is now thought to be completely gone from that state.
