4? A C A 
two feet high. Leaves pinnate, fcattered, ftieathing; leaf¬ 
lets fertile, approximating, pubefcent underneath: the firft 
pairs very fmall, linear, acute, quite entire; from four to 
eight large pairs, oblong, ferrate; the ferratures bearded 
at the end. Spikes axillary, ancipital, erebl, a little rigid, 
fix or fev'en inches long. Brabtes ovate-oblong, concave, 
fo near the calyx as eafily to be taken for a part of it. 
Flowers fubfeflile, alternate. 
ACAJOU, and Acajuba,/. in botany. See Ana- 
cardium. 
ACALANDRUS, a river falling into the. bay of Ta- 
rentum, not far from the Metapontum (Pliny, Strabo); 
now Fiume de Rofetto. 
AC ALEPTIC,_/. in ancient profody, a complete verfe. 
ACALYPHA,/ f to jj-vi e^eu a-tpr,)/^ 
Gr. not being pleafant to handle.] In botany, a genus of 
the monoecia monadelphia clafs, ranking in the natural 
order of tricoccte. The generic charabfers are—(male 
flowers crowded above the females) Calyx : perianthium 
three or four leaved; leaflets rounailh, concave, equal. 
Corolla: none. Stamina: filaments eight to fixteen, fliort, 
crowded, connebled at the bafe. Antherse roundifh.— 
Female flowers fewer, below the others, received into a 
large divided involucre. Calyx: perianthium three leav¬ 
ed; leaflets fubovate, concave, converging, fmall, per¬ 
manent. Corolla: none. Piftillum: germ roundifh. 
Styles three; branching, ufually three-parted, long. Stig¬ 
mas Ample. Pericarpium : capfule roundifh, three-fur- 
rowed, three-celled; the valves gaping two ways. Seeds : 
folitary, roundifh, very large. — EJfential Character. Male. 
Calyx, three or four leaved. Corolla, none. Stamina, 
eight to fixteen.'—Female. Calyx, three-leaved. Corolla, 
none. Styles, three. Capfule three-grained, three-cel¬ 
led. Seed, one. 
Species, i. Acalypha Virginica, or Virginian acalypha. 
Female involucres heart-fhaped gafhed: leaves ovate-lan¬ 
ceolate longer than the petiole. This fort grows naturally 
in Virginia, and feveral other parts of North America; 
alfo in Ceylon. It is an annual plant, feldpm more than a 
foot high, fending out feveral fide-branch.es towards the 
bottom: the leaves are very like thofe of broad-leaved 
pellitory of the wall: the flowers are produced in fmall 
clufters in July and Auguft: thefe make but a poor ap¬ 
pearance, and refemble thofe of pellitory fo much, that 
they may eafily be miftaken for them at a little diflance. 
2. Acalypha virgata, or Jamaica acalypha. Female 
fpikes with involucres heart-fhaped, ferrate; male ones 
diftinbt, naked; leaves lanceolate-ovate. This is a native 
of the warmed countries, and grows plentifully in Jamai¬ 
ca. This is alfo an annual plant, which in England fel- 
dom exceeds the former in ftature. The leaves greatly 
refemble thofe of the annual nettle, and fting full as much 
when touched. 
3. Acalypha Indica, or Indian acalypha. Female in¬ 
volucres heart-fhaped flightly notched: leaves ovate fhort- 
er than the petiole. This fpecies was difeovered in great 
plenty by Dr. Houftoun, at La Vera Cruz. It is an inha¬ 
bitant of marfhy places, and grows about three feet high, 
with an herbaceous fialk : leaves alternate, differing much 
in their figure; fome plants having them long and narrow, 
others broad like thofe of the chefnut-tree, and deeply 
veined. Thefe varieties arife from the feed of the fame 
plant. It is found alfo in the Eaft Indies upon dunghills, 
whence it has the name of Kupamenija, i. e. duno'-lovino - . 
It is annual, and flowers in July. The Items are round, 
firiated, branching, a foot high : at the joints are roundifh 
fmooth leaves, which are flightly notched, and refemble 
thofe of mercury; whence, and from tire tricoccous cap¬ 
fule, thefe plants are called by fome Three-J'eeded Mercury. 
A fpike comes out from the axils with fix, feven, or eight, 
female flowers. The involucres are ftem-clafping, each 
having one female flower, with male flowers terminating 
the fpike. 
4. Acalypha villofa, or villous acalypha. Female in¬ 
volucres very fjnail, toothed, and extremely villous; fpikes 
A C A 
elongate; leaves ovate pointed ferrate, longev than the pe¬ 
tiole—It was found by Mutis in the woods about Cartha- 
gena, where it flowers from May to Auguft. It ig an 
erebt branching fhrub, often fifteen feet high. The flow¬ 
ers are very lmall, in axillary fpikes, thofe of different 
fexes on diftinbt branches: the male fpike dole, cylindric, 
erebt: the female very loofe; calyx five T leaved; three 
ffyles, each bifid to the bafe. 
5. Acalypha Auftralis, or South American acalypha. 
Female involucres quite entire ; leaves lanceolate obtufe. 
—Is a native of South America. 
6. Acalypha hernandifolia. Female fpikes very long, 
involucres cordate ferrate; males diffinbt naked; leaves 
fubcordate ferrate, on very long petioles. 7. Acalypha 
corenfis. Female flowers terminating diffinbt, involucres 
three-leaved; male fpikes axillary involucred; leaves 
ovate ferrate. 8. Acalypha laevigata. Female fpikes with 
many-parted involucres; male fpikes lax naked; leaves 
wedge-ovate acuminate ferrulate very fmooth. 9. Aca¬ 
lypha elliptica. Female fpikes with involucres fhorter 
than the germs, ovate toothed hirfute; males naked lax; 
leaves elliptic acuminate toothed. 10. Acalypha reptans. 
Spikes terminating erect, flowers mixed, females lower; 
involucres cordate ferrate; males leaflets; leaves ovate 
ferrate; ftem creeping. 11. Acalypha tomentofa. Fe¬ 
male fpikes terminating folitary, involucres many-parted ; 
males erebt; leaves ovate-lanceolate ferrate fcabrous vil- 
lous-tomentofe underneath. 12. Acalypha anguftifolia. 
Female flowers fubfeflile terminating, involucres ferrate; 
males in fpikes; leaves linear ferrate. 13. Acalypha fca- 
brofa. Female fpikes with cordate gafhed involucres; 
leaves oblong-lanceolate ferrate fcabrous.—Thefe are all 
natives of the Weft Indies. The feventh is a flirub fix 
feet in height, upright, fmooth, and having runners: and 
is a native of Domingo and Martinico, but moft frequent 
on the confines of woods in Venezuela. The eleventh and 
twelfth are found in Hifpaniola. The tenth is found both 
there and in Jamaica. The reft are inhabitants of the 
ifland of Jamaica. 
14. Acalypha betulaefolia. Female flowers axillary fef- 
iile, involucres cordate crenate; males in fpikes; leaves 
roundifh crenate fmooth.—This is a fhrub that has very 
much the appearance of Betula mana. The leaves are 
about half an inch in length, and fome of them almoft as 
broad. 
Propagation and Culture. Thefe plants have no beauty 
to recommend them, and are preferved only in fome bo¬ 
tanic gardens for the fake of variety. If the feeds of the 
firft fort are permitted to fcatter, the plants will come up. 
in the fpring, better than if fown by hand; and, if they 
are not put into the ground in autumn, they rarely grow 
the firff year. All the culture this plant requires, is to 
keep it clear from weeds, and to let it remain where it 
was fown, for it does not bear removing well. It flowers 
in Auguft, and the feeds ripen in Obfober. The fecond 
fort is too tender to thrive in the open air in England, 
therefore the feeds fhould be fown in pots, plunged into a 
hot-bed; and, if the plants do not come up the firft year, 
which often happens, the pots fhould be put under fhelter 
in wrtnter, and the following fpring plunged again into a 
hot-bed, which will bring up the plants: thefe muft be 
tranfplanted into other pots, and brought forward in hot¬ 
beds, otherwife they will not produce ripe feeds at ail. 
The third fpecies may be treated like the fecond: in a 
ftove it will flower, and in September perfebt the feeds. 
The other forts have not yet been introduced, but will 
require the fame treatment with the fecond and third. 
ACAMANTIS, the. ancient name of the ifland of Cy¬ 
prus, taken from one of its promontaries fttuated to the 
weft, and called Acamas. Teos in Ionia was alfo called 
thus from Acamus the founder. 
ACAMAS, or Acamantis, the weft promontory of 
the ifland of Cyprus, from whence it took this ancient 
name; now Cape Pifanio, or Epifanio, where formerly was 
a town of the fame name, now a village called Crufoccq, 
ACAMASs 
