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"Christmas Star" redirects here. For the Christian tradition, see Star of Bethlehem.

Euphorbia pulcherrima
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Malpighiales Family: Euphorbiaceae Genus: Euphorbia Species: E. pulcherrima
Binomial name
Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch

Euphorbia pulcherrima, commonly named poinsettia, is a species of flowering plant indigenous to Mexico, and native to the Pacific coast of the United States. The shrub occurs in some parts of central and southern Mexico, and a few localities in Guatemala.¹ The name "poinsettia" is after Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States Ambassador to Mexico, who introduced the plant into the US in 1828. The alternative names for the poinsettia are: Cuetlaxochitl (in Nahuatl mexican language), Mexican flame leaf, Christmas star, Winter rose, Noche Buena, Lalupatae, Atatürk çiçeği ("Flower of Atatürk", in Turkey), Αλεξανδρινό (Alexandrian, in Greece), Pasqua and Stella di Natale (in Italy).

Contents 1 Description 2 History of the poinsettia and the Christmas tradition 3 American poinsettia monopoly 4 Cultivation 4.1 Diseases 5 Rumoured toxicity 6 Cocktail 7 Gallery 8 References 9 External links

Description

Euphorbia pulcherrima is a shrub or small tree, 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.

The species is found in the wild in deciduous tropical forest at moderate elevations from southern Sinaloa down the entire Pacific coast of Mexico to Chiapas, Guatemala and as far south as Nicaragua. It is also found in the interior in the hot, seasonally dry forests of Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Chiapas and in temperate North Central Nicaragua.

Cultivars have been produced with orange, pale green, cream and marbled leaves.

There are over 100 varieties of poinsettia available. 74% of Americans prefer red poinsettias, 8% prefer white, and 6% prefer pink.².

History of the poinsettia and the Christmas tradition

In Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, the plant is called Cuitlaxochitl meaning "star flower." The Aztecs used the plant to produce red dye and as an antipyretic medication.³ In both Chile and Peru, the plant became known as "Crown of the Andes".

The plants' association with Christmas began in 16th century Mexico, where legend tells of a young girl who was too poor to provide a gift for the celebration of Jesus' birthday. The tale goes that the child was inspired by an angel to gather weeds from the roadside and place them in front of the church altar. Crimson "blossoms" sprouted from the weeds and became beautiful poinsettias.⁴ From the 17th century, Franciscan monks in Mexico included the plants in their Christmas celebrations.⁵

In the United States, December 12th is National Poinsettia Day.

American poinsettia monopoly

Until the 1990s, 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, in the 1990s, a university researcher discovered the method and published it; now the technique is widespread.⁶

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.

As this is a subtropical plant, it will likely perish if the night-time temperature falls below 10° C (50° F) so is not suitable for planting in the ground in cooler 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.^{citation needed}

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.

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.⁷

Diseases

Main article: List of poinsettia diseases

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 legend⁸ 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.

In a study in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine 22,793 cases of poinsettia exposures were electronically analyzed. 98.9% of the exposures were accidental with 93.9% involving children. 96.1% of the exposed patients were not treated in a health care facility and 92.4% did not require any type of therapy.⁹ If eaten, poinsettias may sometimes cause diarrhea and vomiting in animals and humans.¹⁰If the sap of the Poinsettia accidentally gets into a human's eye, it can cause temporary blindness.¹¹ Even dry sap has an effect on the eye.

Cocktail

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

Gallery

trunk at Jayanti in Buxa Tiger Reserve in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, India.	The bright red leaves resemble petals, dwarfing the clusters of tiny flowers in the center.	Poinsettia bush	A christmas tree of poinsettias in San Diego
A pink poinsettia	Poinsettia with multiple bracts	Poinsettia	Poinsettia's live long after Christmas, even indoors.

References

1. ^ Mexico
2. ^ "The Poinsettia Pages" (html). Retrieved on 2007-12-21.
3. ^ Poinsettia Facts
4. ^ Flowers Ireland
5. ^ The Legends and Traditions of Holiday Plants | Horticulture and Home Pest News
6. ^ Cynthia Crossen, "Holiday's Ubiquitous Houseplant," Wall Street Journal, December 19, 2000.
7. ^ Lee et al. (1997) Phytoplasma induced free branching in commercial poinsettia cultivars. Nature Biotechnology 15 178-182
8. ^ Poinsettia plants are poisonous to humans. (snopes.com) July 30, 2007
9. ^ Poinsettia Facts
10. ^ "Are Poinsettia Plants Poisonous? Fact or Fiction?" (html). Retrieved on 2007-12-21.
11. ^ "Complete Poinsettia information from Drugs.com" (html). Retrieved on 2008-11-29.

External links

The Wikibook A Wikimanual of Gardening/flowers has a page on the topic of Poinsettia

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Euphorbia pulcherrima

• 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

Wikipedia content modification information:

• This page was last modified on 4 December 2008, at 18:52.

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