''Acalypha rubrinervis'' (string tree or stringwood) is an extinct plant in the spurge family (

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, e ...

), from the island of

Saint Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

in the South Atlantic Ocean. It was called string tree on account of the thin pendulous inflorescences which resembled red strings. Disturbance following human settlement on the island destroyed its habitat and it was last seen in the 19th century. It is thus one of a number of island plants to have been driven to

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

by human activity (see List of extinct plants). The genus to which it belongs, ''

Acalypha ''Acalypha'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is the sole genus of the subtribe Acalyphinae. It is one of the largest euphorb genera, with approximately 450 to 462 species. The genus name ''Acalypha'' is from th ...

'', is a large one and includes island endemics as well as weeds and ornamentals. ''A. rubrinervis'' was a shrub or thicket growing on the central ridge of St Helena above 600 m elevation. ''Acalypha rubrinervis'' is a shrub or small tree, 1–2 m. Branches with warty leaf-scars. Leaves ovate to broadly triangular-ovate, entire to somewhat wavy-toothed, with 3 veins from the base of the leaf blade 5-7 x 3–5 cm, leaf stalk 2–6 cm. Leaf stalk and veins red. Inflorescence a long spike, male part up to 20 cm, thread-like, gracefully pendulous. ''Acalypha rubrinervis'' is closely related to ''Acalypha reticulata'' of the

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Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

and

Reunion Reunion may refer to: * Class reunion * Family reunion Reunion, Réunion, Re-union, Reunions or The Reunion may also refer to: Places * Réunion, a French overseas department and island in the Indian Ocean * Reunion, Commerce City, Colorado, U ...

, but it is quite distinct from that species in general appearance, leaf shape, the red colouring, smoot carpels and the very large female bracts. ''Acalypha reticulata'' is immensely variable and has been classified into numerous varieties but none has been seen approaching ''Acalypha rubrinervis''. Dr

William Roxburgh William Roxburgh FRSE FRCPE Linnean Society of London, FLS (3/29 June 1751 – 18 February 1815) was a Scottish people, Scottish surgeon and botanist who worked extensively in India, describing species and working on economic botany. He is known ...

remarked that it was a beautiful small tree, a native of elevated parts of the south face of

Diana's Peak Diana's Peak is the highest point, at , on the island of Saint Helena, a British overseas territory in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is of volcanic origin. The mountain and its surroundings with a total area of 81 ha were proclaimed a national ...

, called the string-tree on account of its numerous beautiful red male spikes, which were hanging in great profusion from every twig.

William John Burchell __NOTOC__ William John Burchell (23 July 1781 – 23 March 1863) was an English explorer, naturalist, traveller, artist, and author. His thousands of plant specimens, as well as field journals from his South African expedition, are held by Ke ...

noted it flowering in April and May. Cronk, Q.C.B. (1995). ''The Endemic Flora of St Helena''. Anthony Nelson Ltd., Oswestry.

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Extinct plants Plant extinctions since 1500 rubrinervis Flora of Saint Helena Plants described in 1995 {{SaintHelena-stub

See also

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