Euphorbiaceae
15-Euphorbia pulcherrima, Poinsettia
![[FMP-field: image]](../picts/Euphorbiaceae/15-Euphorbia%20pulcherrima.jpg)
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The cultivated poinsettia, Euphorbia pulcherrima, has bright red (or other colors) of bracts below the small, inconspicuous cyathia. There is only one nectar gland per cyathium in this species. Note the cyathium with an emerging female flower. In this species, there is only one nectar gland per cyathium, and petal-like appendages are lacking. The Poinsettia gets its common name from Joel R. Poinsett, who popularized the plant and introduced it as a cultivated plant while he was U.S. minister to Mexico in the late 1820s. This formed the basis of a question that was recently asked on one of the million-dollar quiz shows on television. |