the plant that gives you raspberry fuzzies

ACALYPHAMONOSTACHYA.jpg

raspberry fuzzies
Acalypha monostachya
euphorbiaceae

  • regular TO MODERATE WATER (TERRACE TO BOTTOM ZONE)

  • FULL SUN

  • HARDY TO 10º F

  • Deciduous subshrub to about a foot tall, spreading about 3 feet

  • copper-COLORED FLOWERS IN WARM WEATHER, ESPECIALLY IN THE LATE SUMMER TO FALL

  • NECTAR SOURCE FOR BUTTERFLIES, MOTHS, BEES, AND HUMMINGBIRDS

  • EASY TO GROW. Will go dormant at first frost. Cut back to ground, will regrow in spring.

This Chihuahuan Desert native is one of those weirdos that gets little attention from the mainstream. But the weirdo plant people love a leafy Euphorb!

Known as copperleaf or raspberry fuzzies, this plant stays low to the ground, never exceeding more than a foot tall, and spreads to about 3 feet wide. The foliage is green with reddish overtones that really come out when the brick-red, fuzzy blooms emerge. Butterflies and bees love the nectar-rich flowers.

It is native to south and central Texas, west into the Big Bend of the Trans-Pecos, and south into northern Mexico. 

Plants will grow rapidly and best in full sun (and they can take plenty of that sun). The first frost will knock plants to the ground. Cut plants back and wait for regrowth in spring. Moderate to regular landscaping water is best. Too often people plant this species in too much shade and they don’t look good in such conditions. The more sun, the more fuzzies.

Katherine Gierlach