Flowers of Bali

Balinese name: Ikut Lutung
Indonesian name: Ekor Kera
Latin name: Acalypha hispida
Family name: Euphorbiaceae

Chenille Plant, which originated in West Indies, has become common in Bali. It can be seen in house yards and gardens, where it grown as an ornamental.

Description:
This medium shrub produces numerous tassels that droop down like tails from the plant.

Flowers:
Each tassel consists of many small red flowers distributed closely along a stem up to 50 cm long and 1 cm in diameter. The "tails" look like bright red pipe cleaners because of the unbelievably large number of thin red hairs that are attached to the flowers.

The individual flower is a fuzzy white sphere only about 2 mm in diameter with four hairy sepals underneath. Three branches of red filaments project from the top of this white ball. The total length of ball and filament is about 5 mm. There are about 800 of these time tiny balls on each flowering raceme. Once the flowers mature and go to seed, the "monkey tails" look like a little shaggy and worn.

Leaves:
Serrated, spear-shaped and red-veined, occurring alternately on 6 cm stems. The largest are 20 cm long and 16 cm wide.