Stats

Lifespan: Annual
Size: Small
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Tropical scrubland
Range: South Asia
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxins
Status: Uncommon

About

This shrub grows in tropical forest understories with bright copper foliage. Its leaves rotate to track sunlight, snapping back to a vertical position at night.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Genus: Acalypha
Species: Acalypha persimilis