Acalypha australis, commonly known as Asian copperleaf, is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae native to eastern Asia.
Acalypha australis is a herbaceous annual plant, growing tall. Its leaves are oblong to lanceolate, long, wide and borne on petioles long. The flowers are borne in axillary (sometimes terminal) panicles, forming inflorescences long. There are 1âÂÂ3 female flowers and 5âÂÂ7 male flowers per bract; the female flowers have three sepals, whereas the male flowers have four.
The native distribution of A. australis covers all of China except Nei Mongol and Xinjiang provinces, and parts of Japan, Korea, Laos, the Philippines, eastern Russia and Vietnam. The species has also been introduced to New York, Iowa, northern Australia (Queensland to Victoria) and eastern India.
In its native range, A. australis grows in grasslands and cultivated areas at altitudes of , or exceptionally up to , above sea level.