Poinsettia

The poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) is a tropical shrub whose small flowers are surrounded by showy bracts, often red but also pink, cream, or white.

Bract: A modified leaf associated with a flower or flower cluster. The poinsettia’s colored display comes from bracts rather than petals.
Poinsettia cultivation: The commercial and home growing of poinsettias for their colored bracts and compact form. Controlled light, temperature, and pinching shape plants for holiday-season flowering.
Mexico: A country in North America where poinsettia grows naturally in tropical and subtropical regions. The species is native to Mexico, where it occurs as a shrub or small tree.
Christmas flower: A common name for flowers associated with Christmas celebrations, especially the poinsettia. Poinsettia’s winter-season bracts made it a widely recognized Christmas decoration.
Cyathium: A cup-shaped flower structure characteristic of many Euphorbia species, containing highly reduced flowers. Each poinsettia flower cluster includes cyathia at the center of its bracts.
Greenhouse: A structure that provides a controlled environment for growing plants. Commercial poinsettias are commonly produced under protected conditions that regulate growth and flowering.
Joel Roberts Poinsett: An American diplomat and botanist who served as the first U.S. minister to Mexico. Poinsett introduced the plant to the United States in the 1820s; its common name honors him.
Nochebuena: The Spanish name for Christmas Eve and, in Mexico, a common name for the poinsettia. The name connects the plant with Christmas celebrations in its native region.
Photoperiodism: A biological response to the relative lengths of day and night. Long uninterrupted nights help trigger the poinsettia’s seasonal bract coloration.
Plant propagation: The production of new plants through sexual or asexual reproduction. Poinsettia cultivars are commonly multiplied from stem cuttings to preserve their traits.

Linked from 2 pages

EuphorbiaceaeBroader topic: This species anchors the family's familiar holiday ornamental in its native range.