Poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) are flowers native to the Pacific coast of Mexico, some parts of central southern Mexico, and a few localities in Guatemala. They are named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States ambassador to Mexico, who introduced the plant in the U.S. in 1825. Poinsettia thumbnail from http://www. ... For other uses, see Scientific classification (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Plant (disambiguation). ... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of land plants. ... Magnoliopsida is the botanical name for a class of flowering plants. ... Families Family Achariaceae Family Balanopaceae Family Bonnetiaceae Family Caryocaraceae Family Chrysobalanaceae Family Clusiaceae Family Ctenolophonaceae Family Dichapetalaceae Family Elatinaceae Family Erythryloxaceae (coca family) Family Euphorbiaceae (spurge family) Family Euphroniaceae Family Goupiaceae Family Humiriaceae Family Hypericaceae (St Johns wort family) Family Irvingiaceae Family Ixonanthaceae Family Lacistemaceae Family Linaceae (flax family... Genera See text Ref: Euphorbiaceae in The Families of Flowering Plants, as of 2002-07-13 The Spurge family (Euphorbiaceae) is a large family of flowering plants with 280 genera and around 6000 species. ... This article needs cleanup. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Joel Roberts Poinsett (March 2, 1779 – December 12, 1851) was a physician, botanist and American statesman. ...

Alternative names for the poinsettia are Mexican flame leaf, Christmas star, Winter rose, Noche Buena, Lalupatae, Atatürk çiçeği ("Atatürk's Flower", in Turkey) and Pascua. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–November 10, 1938), Turkish army officer, revolutionary, and anti-imperialist statesman, was the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey. ...

Description

Poinsettias are shrubs to small trees, typically reaching a height of 0.6 to 4 m (2 to 16 ft). The plant bears dark green dentate leaves that measure 7 to 16 cm (3 to 6 inches) in length. The top leaves, known as bracts, are flaming red, pink, or white and are often mistaken as flowers. The actual flowers are grouped within the small yellow structures found in the center of each leaf bunch, which are called cyathia. Toothed bracts on Rhinanthus minor In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, from the axil of which a flower or flower stalk arises; or a bract may be any leaf associated with an inflorescence. ... The very special Pseudanthia in the genus Euphorbia (Euphorbiaceae) are known as Cyathia. ...

Poinsettias are found in the wild in deciduous tropical forest at moderate elevations from southern Sinaloa down the entire Pacific coast of Mexico to Chiapas and into Guatemala. It is also found in the interior in the hot, seasonally dry forests of Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Chiapas.

Cultivars have been produced with orange, pale green, cream and marbled leaves. This Osteospermum Pink Whirls is a successful cultivar. ...

There are exactly 109 varieties of poinsettias available, but 69% of Americans still prefer red poinsettias, 7% prefer white, and 14% prefer pink (The Poinsettia Pages, University of Illinois Extension).

In Nahuatl, the plant is called Cuitlaxochitl meaning "star flower." For the Spanish language as spoken in Mexico, see Mexican Spanish. ...

American poinsettia monopoly

Until 19 years ago, the Paul Ecke Family of Encinitas, California, had a virtual monopoly on poinsettias owing to a technological secret that made it difficult for others to compete. The key to producing more desirable poinsettias is to create a fuller, more compact plant. A poinsettia left to grow on its own will naturally take an open, somewhat weedy look. The Eckes' technique, which involved grafting two varieties of poinsettia together, made it possible to get every seedling to branch, resulting in a bushier plant. However, about 10 years ago, a university researcher discovered the phenomenon and published it; now the technique is widespread.^[1] This article is about the U.S. state. ...

Cultivation

In areas outside its natural environment it is commonly grown as an indoor plant where it prefers good morning sun then shade in the hotter part of the day. However it is widely grown and very popular in subtropical climates such as Sydney, Australia. This is about the city of Sydney in Australia. ...

As this is a subtropical plant, it will likely perish if the nighttime temperature falls below 10° C (50° F) so is not suitable for planting in the ground in milder climates. Likewise daytime temperatures in excess of 21° C (70° F) tend to shorten the lifespan of the plant.^{[citation needed]}

The poinsettia is also cultivated in Egypt since 1860s, it was brought from Mexico during Egyptian campaign around 1860s. It is called "Bent El Consul", "the consul's daughter", referring to U.S. ambassador Mr. Poinsett.

The poinsettia can be difficult to induce to reflower after the initial display when purchased. The plant requires a period of uninterrupted long, dark nights for around two months in autumn in order to develop flowers. Incidental light at night during this time will hamper flower production. When watering it is important to allow the plant to drain out any excess water. Having a poinsettia sit in water can do harm to the plant as it prefers moist soil to direct water. This article is about the temperate season. ...

In order to produce extra axillary buds that are necessary for plants containing multiple flowers a phytoplasma infection, whose symptoms include the proliferation of axillary buds, is used.^[2] Species Candidatus Phytoplasma allocasuarinae Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris Candidatus Phytoplasma australiense Candidatus Phytoplasma castaneae Candidatus Phytoplasma cynodontis Candidatus Phytoplasma japonicum Candidatus Phytoplasma mali Candidatus Phytoplasma morrenia Candidatus Phytoplasma oryzae Candidatus Phytoplasma persicae Candidatus Phytoplasma pini Candidatus Phytoplasma prunorum Candidatus Phytoplasma pyri Candidatus Phytoplasma rhamni Candidatus Phytoplasma spartii Candidatus Phytoplasma trifolii Candidatus... The word proliferation can refer to: Nuclear proliferation Chemical weapon proliferation the spread in use of other weapons systems Cell proliferation According to Gloria Anzaldúa (1990), the difference between appropriation and proliferation is that the first steals and harms; the second helps heal breaches of knowledge. ...

Diseases

Main article: List of poinsettia diseases

This article is a list of diseases of poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima). ...

Rumoured toxicity

In the United States and perhaps elsewhere, there is a common misconception that poinsettias are toxic. The origin of this could be found in the fact that most plants of the spurge genus are indeed toxic and also because the name of the plant seems to refer to the word poison. This misconception was spread by a 1919 urban legend of a two-year-old child dying after consuming a poinsettia leaf. While it is true that the plant is not very toxic, those sensitive to latex may suffer an allergic reaction and it is therefore not advisable to bring the plants into the home of sensitive individuals. If eaten, poinsettias may sometimes cause diarrhea and vomiting in animals and humans. [1] Toxic redirects here, but this is also the name of a song by Britney Spears; see Toxic (song) Look up toxic and toxicity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Species See full list. ... For other uses, see Poison (disambiguation). ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... An urban legend or urban myth is similar to a modern folklore consisting of stories often thought to be factual by those circulating them. ... Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea (see spelling differences), is a condition in which the sufferer has frequent watery, loose bowel movements (from the Greek word διάρροια; literally meaning through-flowing). Acute infectious diarrhea is a common cause of death in developing countries (particularly among infants), accounting for 5 to 8 million deaths... Emesis redirects here. ...

Poinsettias in legend

A Mexican legend explains how poinsettias came to be associated with Christmas. Apparently, a child who could not afford a gift to offer to Christ on Christmas Eve picked some weeds from the side of a road. The child was told that a humble gift, if given in love, would be acceptable in God's eyes. When brought into the church, the weeds bloomed into red and green flowers and the congregation felt they had witnessed a Christmas miracle. For other uses, see Legend (disambiguation). ...

The ancient Aztecs prized the poinsettia (cuetlaxochitl in Nahuatl) as a symbol of purity. Centuries later, Mexico's early Christians adopted the poinsettias as their prized Christmas flowers. The Mexican poinsettia, known as the Christmas Flower in North America, is used in many Christmas decorations. The word Aztec is usually used as a historical term, although some contemporary Nahuatl speakers would consider themselves Aztecs. ... For the Spanish language as spoken in Mexico, see Mexican Spanish. ... ... This article is about the religous people known as Christians. ... Christmas Flowers are the popular flowers used during the festive season of Christmas. ... North America North America is a continent [1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ...

In Turkey, it is known as "Atatürk's Flower", since it is considered to be the favorite flower of Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey. There is an urban legend that claims a professor named Kirk Landin of Vanderbilt University had discovered the flower in laboratory and given the name "Ataturk Flower" after the recommendation of a colleague who had worked in Tarsus American College in Turkey.^[3] “Mustafa Kemal” redirects here. ... An urban legend or urban myth is similar to a modern folklore consisting of stories often thought to be factual by those circulating them. ... Vanderbilt University is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational research university in Nashville, Tennessee. ... Tarsus American College (official Turkish name: Özel Tarsus Amerikan Lisesi, aka Tarsus Amerikan Lisesi) is a private coeducational high school located in Tarsus, province Mersin, Turkey. ...

Cocktail

• A poinsettia cocktail is a mixture of dry sparkling white wine, vodka, and cranberry juice.

For other uses, see Cocktail (disambiguation). ... A glass of sparkling wine A Sparkling wine cork It has been suggested that Spumante, Frizzante, Sekt and Cremant be merged into this article or section. ... Vodka bottling machine, Shatskaya Vodka Shatsk, Russia Vodka (Polish: wódka, Russian: водка) is one of the worlds most popular distilled beverages. ... “Cranberries” redirects here. ...

Gallery

External links

• The Wild Poinsettia Page: Images of Euphorbia pulcherrima in the wild in Mexico
• Snopes on toxicity
• USDA PLANTS Database, Symbol EUPU9, E. pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch
• Poinsettia pages at the University of Illinois, UIUC
• Poinsettia Q&A from Master Gardener Kris
• Poinsettias in Africa
• Ohio State University Fact Sheet.
• Poinsettia FAQ.
• Poinsettia at home.
• Hardingnursery
• History of Poinsettia Day

Image File history File links Wikibooks-logo-en. ... Wikibooks logo Wikibooks, previously called Wikimedia Free Textbook Project and Wikimedia-Textbooks, is a wiki for the creation of books. ... Image File history File links Commons-logo. ...

References

1. ^ Cynthia Crossen, "Holiday's Ubiquitous Houseplant," Wall Street Journal, December 19, 2000.
2. ^ Lee et al. (1997) Phytoplasma induced free branching in commercial poinsettia cultivars. Nature Biotechnology 15 178-182
3. ^ İnternet sazanı olmayın, article dated June 18, 2007 from daily Radikal (in Turkish, last accessed July 12, 2007).

Radikal is a daily Turkish language newspaper, published in Istanbul. ...