Its leaves are alternate, petiolate, simple and ovate, with serrate or dentate margins, a cordate base and slight pubescence, and grow to 10 cm (3.9 in) in length.

The female flowers are also petal-less but have three styles which subdivide into white hairs which give the inflorescence a furry appearance.

Acalypha ostryifolia grows in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua.

[9][10]Ecuador,[11] the West Indies,[6] and the United States,[6] including the US states AL, AR, AZ, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MO, MS, NC, NE, NJ, NM, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, and WV, and the US unincorporated territories of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

[14] The spotted lady beetle (Coleomegilla maculata) commonly lays eggs on this plant when it grows near sweet corn crops in Kentucky.