Are you a trivia buff ? If so , perhaps you ’d be concerned in knowing a small bit more about the poinsettia plant you buy every Christmas .
For example , did you screw that the poinsettia ’s master attracter is not its bloom , but its leave-taking ? The flowers of the plant are the yellow clustered buds in the center . The colored leafy parts are in reality bracts or change farewell .
Red is the most popular color , accounting for rough three - quarters of all sales nationally , follow by lily-white and pink . Poinsettias come in a potpourri of colouring material from red , salmon , and apricot to chicken , ointment , and white . There are also unusual flecked or marbleized assortment like “ Jingle Bells ” and “ Candy Cane ” with several colors immix together . New varieties are introduced yearly with even more variation in height and color .
How many Christmas star do you imagine are sold in a class ?
If you guessed around 60 million , you ’d be in the ballpark . Would you trust that last year more than 65 million were sell nationally ? Poinsettias accounted for one - third of sale of all flowering potted plants . In economic terminus , that ’s $ 237 million out of a sum of $ 781 million in sale of all flowering potted plant !
Although every province in the United Statesgrows poinsettiascommercially , California is the top manufacturer with about 27 million pots grown , follow by Texas , North Carolina , Ohio , and Michigan , each with about 14 million throne .
Did you live that in the wild , the poinsettia can reach pinnacle of 12 feet with leaf measuring six to eight inches across ? It is actually a small tropical Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree belonging to the Euphorbia plant family . Itsbotanical nameis Euphorbia pulcherrima although in English - speak country it is more commonly know as the Christmas star . A native of southern Mexico , the poinsettia blooms inDecemberand has been used in that land to embellish churches for century .
In the fourteenth to 16th centuries , the Aztecs used the poinsettia leaves to dye fabric for clothing and the sap for medicinal purpose , including to help control fevers . They also consider the crimson vividness a symbolic representation of sinlessness , and so poinsettias were traditionally part of religious observance .
You probably know that Dr. Joel Roberts Poinsett , an amateur phytologist and first United States ambassador to Mexico , introduced the plant that became known as the Euphorbia pulcherrima to this country . He discovered a shrub with brightly emblazon violent leaves produce by the side of the route in Taxco , Mexico , in December 1828 and place press cutting home to his orchard in Greenville , South Carolina .
But did you know that most botanists at that prison term dismissed the poinsettia as a weed ? Fortunately , Poinsett continue to study and breed this plant in his greenhouse , sharing plants with his horticulturist booster . It soon gained acceptance as aholiday plant , despite its very inadequate blossom time . It was n’t until the sixties that researchers were able to successfully multiply plants to flower more than just a few days .
Here ’s another bit of interesting trifle . December 12 is National Poinsettia Day . Never heard of it ? Believe it or not , the United States has observed this prescribed mean solar day since the mid-1800s . It abide by the humanity and the plant he introduced . Poinsett conk Dec.12 , 1851 .
True or untrue ? The Christmas flower is a vicious plant . If you answered false , you ’re correct . The plant has been tested repeatedly and crystalise of this charge by the National Poison Center in Atlanta , Georgia , and the American Medical Association . The POINSINDEX Information Service , the main information resourcefulness for poison mastery center across the country , reports that even if a 50 - quid nestling consumed more than 500 Christmas flower bract – the amount test in scientific experimentation – the result would not be black . Even at this high level , no perniciousness was found .
However , this does n’t mean that poinsettias are meant to be eaten . If ingested , this plant can cause abdomen irritation and discomfort . Cats and child also may expire on the fibrous parts , so be trusted to keep these plant out of their reach . The mucilaginous white sap also may stimulate skin irritation for some people .
Do you know the best way of life to protract the life of thisChristmas flora ? fend off hot or moth-eaten drafts , keep the soil moist not soggy , and spot in a elbow room with sufficient natural Light Within and temperature of around 60 to 70 degrees F. Water when the dirt begins to dry out . Once the leaves set about to droop , it ’s too late .
Above all , protect it from photo to jazz or moth-eaten on the way home from the memory . Poinsettias are highly sensitive to moth-eaten temperature and even a few moment of exposure to 50 - degree F or lower temperatures will cause them to wilt . But when cared for in good order , poinsettias usually will outlive your desire to keep them !
FUN FACTS ABOUT POINSETTIAS
By Dr. Leonard Perry Extension Greenhouse and Nursery Crops Specialist University of Vermont
