Flora Focus || Poinsettia

Its been awhile since I have done one of these posts! I got really encouraged to share more florals here on Pretty Lovely after getting the results from the reader survey. Most everyone wanted to see more! Thanks everyone who took it! It was super helpful to me!
So with Christmas this week (!!!) I thought it would be fitting to share a little about the Christmas classic Poinsettias.

Poinsettia
Botanical Name: Euphorbia pulcherrima
Flower: The flowers are not actually the bright red, white or pink you clearly see on a Poinsettia. Those are called bracts, which are modified leaves. The flowers are the little yellow dots you see in the middle of the cluster of bracts. Very unshowy.
Leaves: Dark green leaves growing to about 7 inches long. The bracts, which need 12 hours of darkness for at least 5 days in a row to change color, come in red, pink, white, burgundy or marbled. The bracts are what make Poinsettias showy.
Meaning: To bring cheer

These plants are native to Mexico and grow as perennials (the same plant growing year after year) there. Our typical Christmas plant is actually a tropical one. I found that really interesting when I first learned that. They grow wild in the tropical forests!

I hope you are all ready for Christmas and not running around for last minute things! Enjoy the week!
xo