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Cooperleaf

Acalypha wilkesiana, Euphorbiaceae

Sources last read 14 September 2026.

Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.

Also called beefsteak plant, Copper Plant, copperleaf, Jacob's Coat and Lance Copperleaf.

Cooperleaf (Acalypha wilkesiana), the whole plant.
Wee Hong, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Toxicity is partly unassessed

  • Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for people. RHS publishes no harm statement for this plant. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.

What the sources say about its care

Light
Full sun, Partial shade
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Water
Moist but well-drained
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Humidity

No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.

ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%
Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Temperature

How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.

H1B — 10–15°C 10–15 °C
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Soil
Sand; pH Acid or Alkaline or Neutral
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to cats
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to dogs
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Harmful to people
No statement of harm to people is published for this plant; that absence is not evidence it is safe.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Routine care

Watering
During growth, water generously and feed monthly with a balanced liquid feed. In winter give little water, keeping the compost barely moist.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Feeding
While growing, water generously and give a balanced liquid feed each month.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Propagation
Leaf cuttings, stem cuttings
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Take softwood cuttings during summer or semi-hardwood cuttings during late summer.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pests and diseases
Can be troubled by mealybugs, twospotted spider mite, whiteflies and soft scale.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Can be troubled by scale insects, mealybugs, glasshouse red spider mite and glasshouse whitefly. Diseases: usually none.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Move something and watch

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Close view of Cooperleaf (Acalypha wilkesiana) foliage.
Close upKrzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Cooperleaf (Acalypha wilkesiana) growing in a pot.
In a potDaderot, CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

About the plant

Acalypha wilkesiana, common names copperleaf, Jacob's coat and Flamengueira, is an evergreen shrub growing to 3 metres (9.8 ft) high and 2 metres across. It has a closely arranged crown, with an erect stem and many branches. Both the branches and the leaves are covered in fine hairs. The leaves, which may be flat or crinkled, are large and broad with teeth around the edge. They can be 10–20 centimetres (3.9–7.9 in) long and 15 centimetres (5.9 in) wide. The leaves are coppery green with red splashes, giving them a mottled appearance. Separate male and female flowers appear on the same plant. The male flowers are in long spikes which hang downwards while the female flowers are in short spikes. The latter do not show up easily as they are often hidden among the leaves. The flower stalks are 10–20 cm long.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026

Native range
Bismarck Arch. to SW. Pacific
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Fiji and South Pacific Islands
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Pacific Islands
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Climate
wet tropical
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Growth form
shrub or tree
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Annual
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Bushy (evergreen)
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Size
Height 36–48 in; width up to 36 in
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Height 1-1.5 metres; spread 1-1.5 metres after 5–10 years
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Flowering
Flowers gold/yellow, green, red/burgundy; blooms in summer
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

Other Acalypha

More of the Euphorbiaceae family

Plants with similar care

Sources

What this does not cover

The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.

Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.

If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.