台湾铁苋菜 tai wan tie xian cai

Acalypha formosana Hayata; A. grandis Bentham var. formosana (Hayata) Hurusawa.

Shrubs, ca. 3 m tall. Branchlets hirsute. Stipules ovate, ca. 8 mm, acuminate, pubescent; petiole 8-10 cm, pilose; leaf blade broadly ovate or orbicular-ovate, 18-23 × 13-15 cm, slightly papyraceous, both surfaces sparsely hirsute, base obtuse to subcordate, margin serrulate, apex caudate-acuminate; basal veins 5. Plants monoecious. Spikes unisexual, axillary. Male flowers glomerate; inflorescences pendulous, bracts small, lax; pedicel ca. 1 mm, pilose; sepals 4, pilose; stamens 8. Female flowers solitary; inflorescences ca. 8 cm; peduncle ca. 1 cm; bracts lax, half-orbicular, ca. 5 × 7 mm, ca. 10-denticulate, pilose; sepals 3, ca. 0.7 mm, ciliate; ovary densely hirtellous; styles 3, ca. 4 mm, laciniate. Fruit unknown. Fl. Jul-Aug.

Mountain slopes, thickets; 400-500 m. Taiwan [Philippines].