Are poinsettias poisonous? HowStuffWorks

The poinsettia (/p??n's?ti?/ or /p??n's?t?/) (Euphorbia pulcherrima) is a commercially important seed kinds of the diverse spurge family. The species is indigenous to Mexico. It is especially well known for its red and renewable foliage which is trusted in Holiday floral displays. It derives its common English name from Joel Roberts Poinsett,[3] the first United States Minister to Mexico,[4] who introduced the plant to the united states in 1825.

Euphorbia pulcherrima is a shrub or small tree, typically attaining a height of 0.6-4 metres (2 ft 0 in-13 ft 1 in). The herb bears dark renewable dentate leaves that strategy 7-16 centimetres (2.8-6.3 in) in length. The coloured bracts--which are most flaming red but can be orange often, pale green, cream, red, white, or marbled--are often mistaken for rose petals because of their groupings and colors, but are actually leaves.[citation needed] The colors of the bracts are manufactured through photoperiodism, meaning that they require darkness (12 hours at a time for at least five days in a row) to improve color. At the same time, the vegetation require considerable light during the full day for the brightest color. The flowers of the poinsettia are unassuming , nor attract pollinators. They are grouped within small yellow structures found in the center of every leaf bunch, and are called cyathia. The poinsettia is local to Mexico. It really is within the untamed in deciduous tropical forests at moderate elevations from southern Sinaloa down the whole Pacific coast of Mexico to Chiapas and Guatemala. It is also found in the interior in the hot, seasonally dry forests of Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Chiapas. Accounts of E. pulcherrima growing in the open in Nicaragua and Costa Rica have yet to be affirmed by botanists. There are over 100 cultivated varieties of poinsettia.

The plant was employed by the Aztecs to produce red dye and as an antipyretic medication. In Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, the plant is named Cuitlaxochitl, meaning "flower that grows in residues or soil" Today it is known in Mexico and Guatemala as Flor de Noche Buena, meaning Christmas Eve Flower. In Spain it is recognized as Flor de Pascua or Pascua, signifying Easter flower. In Chile and Peru, the plant became known as Crown of the Andes. In Turkey, it is called Atat?rk's flower because Atat?rk, the creator of the Republic, liked this blossom and made a significant contribution to its cultivation in Turkey.[citation needed] In Hungarian, it is named Santa Claus' Blossom, and it's trusted as a Holiday decoration.

The plant's association with Christmas started in 16th-century Mexico, where tale tells of a woman, called Pepita or Maria commonly, who was simply too poor to provide a gift for the party of Jesus' birthday and was encouraged by an angel to assemble weeds from the roadside and place them in front of the chapel altar. Crimson blossoms sprouted from the weeds and became beautiful poinsettias. From the 17th century, Franciscan friars in Mexico included the vegetation in their Holiday festivities. The star-shaped leaf structure is thought to symbolize the Legend of Bethlehem, and the red color represents the blood sacrifice through the crucifixion of Jesus. Poinsettias are popular Christmas accessories in homes, churches, office buildings, and across North America somewhere else. They can be purchased in good sized quantities from grocery, drug, and hardware stores. In america, Dec 12 is Country wide Poinsettia Day.

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