Poinsettia - Facts worth Knowing

  • Poinsettias are native to Mexico.
  • The Aztecs called the poinsettia Cuetlayochitl.
  • Chile and Peru called the poinsettia the "Crown of the Andes."
  • Poinsettias are part of the Euphorbiaceae family. Many plants in this family ooze a milky sap.
  • In nature, poinsettias are a perennial flowering shrubs that can grow to ten feet tall.
  • The showy colored part of poinsettias that most people think are the flowers are actually colored bracts (modified leaves).
  • The flowers or cyathia of the poinsettia are in the center of the colorful bracts.
  • Poinsettias have been called the lobster flower and flame leaf flower.
  • Poinsettias are not poisonous.
  • A study at Ohio State University showed that a 50 pound child who ate 500 bracts might have a slight tummy ache.
  • A fresh poinsettia is one on which little or no yellow pollen is showing on the flower clusters in the center of the bracts.
  • Poinsettias represent over 85 percent of the potted plant sales during the holiday season.
  • Ninety percent of all poinsettias are exported from the United States.
  • Poinsettias were introduced into the United States in 1825 by Joel Poinsett.
  • Poinsettias are commercially grown in all 50 states.
  • California is the top poinsettia producing state.
  • December 12 is National Poinsettia Day.
  • The Paul Ecke Ranch in California grows over 80 percent of poinsettias in the United States for the wholesale market.
  • Ninety per cent of all the flowering poinsettias in the world got their start at the Paul Ecke Ranch.
  • There are over 100 varieties of poinsettias available.
  • $220 million worth of poinsettias are sold during the holiday season.
  • Seventy-four percent of Americans still prefer red poinsettias; 8 percent prefer white and 6 percent pink.
  • Eighty percent of poinsettias are purchased by women.
  • Eighty percent of people who purchase poinsettias are 40 or older.
  • Poinsettias are the best selling potted plant in the United States.
  • Poinsettias are the most popular Christmas plant even though most are sold in a 6 week period.
  • Sixty million pots of poinsettias were grown in 1997.
  • The cost of a poinsettia is determined by the number of blooms.

 

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