Baur’s Silky Copperleaf (Acalypha sericea var. baurii)
The Silky Copperleaf (Acalypha sericea Anderss.) is endemic to the Galápagos Islands, where several varieties are found on many of the islands.
This one, discussed here, is apparently restricted to the Isla San Christóbal and is known only from a single collection that was purchased sometimes in the middle of the 19th century. [1]
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References:
[1] I. Loren Wiggins; D. M. Porter; E. F. Anderson: Flora of the Galápagos Islands. Stanford University Press 1971
The Dikuluwe Copperleaf was found growing on copper-rich soils in copper outcrops in a small area in the eastern Katanga Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The habitat was completely destroyed by surface mining.
The Dikuluwe Copperleaf was not found since 1959 and was finally officially declared extinct in 2012.
The Red-veined Copperleaf was endemic to the island of Saint Helena; the litte tree, which, for its beautiful red male flower spikes, which hung in great profusion from every twig, the islanders named string-tree or stringwood, was restricted to the elevated parts of the southern slopes of Diana’s Peak.
The species reached a size of about 2 m in height; its red-veined leaves were 5 to 7 cm long and 3 to 5 cm wide, the male inflorescences were about 20 cm long, the flowers were red while the female flowers were rather inconspicuous.
The last individual was found by John Charles Melliss, an amateur naturalist that lived on Saint Helena.:
“The last plant I saw of it in the island was one that had been transplanted to Oakbank about twenty years ago. It grew to a small tree about eighteen inches high, and blossomed and seeded freely, but is no longer there.” [1]
This last known individual died in about 1870.
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References:
[1] John Charles Meliss: St. Helena: A Physical, Historical, and Topographical Description of the Island, including its Geology, Fauna, Flora, and Meteorology. London: L. Reeve & Co. 1875
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Depiction from: ‘John Charles Meliss: St. Helena: A Physical, Historical, and Topographical Description of the Island, including its Geology, Fauna, Flora, and Meteorology. London: L. Reeve & Co. 1875’
Wilder’s Copperleaf was restricted to Rarotonga, the largest of the Cook Islands, and was scientifically described in the year 1931.
The species was a mostly unbranched, about 2 m tall shrub, with long-stemmed, about 30 x 20 cm large leaves. It was monoecious, with plants producing either only female or male flowers, which appeared at the tops of the branches, the female flowers in short upright inflorescences, the male flowers in long, drooping ones.
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The Night-blooming Cestrum (Cestrum nocturnum L.), a plant introduced to Rarotonga, is known for displacing other plant species by forming dense impenetrable thickets, and is thought to be one of the invasive species that are responsible for the extinction of Wilder’s Copperleaf.
