Taxon: Acalypha indica L.

Summary

Genus:

Acalypha

Family:

Euphorbiaceae

Subfamily:

Acalyphoideae

Tribe:

Acalypheae

Subtribe:

Acalyphinae

Nomen number:

400002

Place of publication:

Sp. pl. 2:1003. 1753

Typification:

View in Linnean Typification Project

Verified:

05/15/1995 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

0 (0 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System.

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Images (2 total. Click on image for more.)

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

Airy Shaw, H. K. 1972. The Euphorbiaceae of Siam. Kew Bull. 26:206.
Airy Shaw, H. K. 1980. The Euphorbiaceae of New Guinea. Kew Bull. add. ser., 8:18.
Airy Shaw, H. K. 1982. The Euphorbiaceae of Central Malesia (Celebes, Moluccas, Lesser Sunda Is.). Kew Bull. 37:3.
Arnold, T. H. & B. C. De Wet, eds. 1993. Plants of southern Africa: names and distribution. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa no. 62
Balakrishnan, N. P. & T. Chakrabarty. 2007. The family Euphorbiaceae in India; a synopsis of its profile, taxonomy and bibliography
Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
Duke, J. A. 1985. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
Erhardt, W. et al. 2002. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 17. Auflage
Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles. Note: introduced
McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Sagun, V. G. 2010. Revision and phylogeny of Acalypha (Euphorbiaceae) in Malesia. Blumea 55:45-46.
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	copperleaf	1	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
English	Indian acalypha	1	Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
English	Indian-nettle	1	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
English	three-seeded-mercury	1	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
German	Brennkraut	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
German	indisches Kupferblatt	2	Erhardt, W. et al. 2002. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 17. Auflage
Portuguese (Brazil)	alcalifa	2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Spanish	hierba de cancer	2	Duke, J. A. 1985. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
Spanish	ricinela	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Kenya			Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Tanzania			Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Uganda			Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Ethiopia			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Somalia			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Angola			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Malawi			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Mozambique			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zambia			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zimbabwe			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Botswana			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Eswatini			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Namibia			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Eastern Cape		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Gauteng		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	KwaZulu-Natal		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Limpopo		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Mpumalanga		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	North-West		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Benin			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Burkina Faso			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Gambia			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Ghana			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Guinea			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Guinea-Bissau			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Liberia			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Mauritania			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Niger			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Senegal			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Sierra Leone			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Togo			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Democratic Republic of the Congo			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Africa	Western Indian Ocean	Madagascar			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Africa	Western Indian Ocean	Mauritius			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Africa	Western Indian Ocean	Reunion			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Taiwan			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Andhra Pradesh		Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Assam		Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Bihar		Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Gujarat		Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Karnataka		Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Kerala		Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Madhya Pradesh		Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Maharashtra		Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Odisha		Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Rajasthan		Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Tamil Nadu		Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Uttar Pradesh		Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	West Bengal		Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Pakistan			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Sri Lanka			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	India	Andaman and Nicobar Islands		Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Myanmar			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Thailand			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Indonesia			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Malaysia			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Philippines			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Papuasia	Papua New Guinea			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
4	Naturalized					widely natzd. elsewhere	Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae

Native
Africa

NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Ethiopia, Somalia
EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Democratic Republic of the Congo
WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo
SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Botswana, Namibia, Eswatini, South Africa [Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North-West]
WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion

Asia-Temperate

EASTERN ASIA: Taiwan

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India [Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka], Sri Lanka, Pakistan
PAPUASIA: Papua New Guinea
INDO-CHINA: India [Andaman and Nicobar Islands], Myanmar, Thailand
MALESIA: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines

Naturalized (widely natzd. elsewhere)

Reference(s)

Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Medicines	folklore		Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
Medicines	folklore		McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Weed	seed contaminant	potential	Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles. Note: introduced

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=400002. Accessed 11 May 2026.