Acalypha poiretii is a tropical annual weed native to Texas, Mexico, and Central and South America, now naturalized in disturbed areas across warm-climate regions. It grows only 15 to 18 inches tall and produces the small, inconspicuous green flowers typical of the genus. Named for the French botanist Jean-Louis Marie Poiret, it is one of several small native Acalypha species that botanists track but gardeners rarely encounter intentionally.

Its interest is primarily botanical and ecological — an understanding of this plant matters most to those mapping disturbed plant communities or managing ground in warm climates where it self-seeds freely. For the practical gardener it appears as an annual weed in warm, open, disturbed soil, easily removed and unlikely to establish in a well-maintained bed where competition from other plants limits its spread.