Species · genus Acalypha · Euphorbiaceae

Dwarf Chenilleplant

Acalypha herzogiana Pax & K.Hoffm.

Also known as: Dwarf-cattail · Red Firetail · Strawberry Firetail · Strawberry-foxtail · Trailing Chenilleplant

Growth habit

subshrub

Native range

Argentina Northeast, Bolivia, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Paraguay

Reference · A. herzogiana

Cultivars of A. herzogiana

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under A. herzogiana yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

Acalypha herzogiana is a subshrub from subtropical South America, where it grows in warm, seasonally moist conditions. Give it bright indirect light and let the top inch of mix dry before watering again, hedging toward dry rather than soggy since persistent wetness invites root rot. As a woody Euphorbiaceae subshrub it tolerates a steady medium humidity typical of most homes.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 7-12d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Bright, indirect

Water

≈ every 12 days

Humidity

Medium

Temperature

16–29 °C

Soil mix

Rich, well-draining loamy potting mix

Propagation

Softwood stem cuttings rooted in warmth

Fertilizing

Balanced liquid feed monthly in the growing season

Growth rate

Fast

Flowering

Small catkin-like blooms, uncommon indoors

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Toxic to cats & dogs & humans

Euphorbiaceae commonly carry an irritant milky latex that can harm skin, eyes, and mucous membranes if cut or chewed. This is where toxicity lives: every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

Add images

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 7-12d) · ai:claude-fable-5 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (family inference)

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Dwarf Chenilleplant yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.