Editing Poinsettia

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant in the spurge family Euphorbiaceae}}
{{Other uses}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2017}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Weihnachtsstern - groß.jpg
| image_alt = A potted plant sits against a white background. Its terminal leaves are crimson red, while the others are dark green.
| image2 = Euphorbia pulcherrima (poinsettia) (32073624970).jpg
| image2_alt = Green stalks with green leaves, shooting straight up. Not more than a few  feet tall, with clusters of red leaves at their tips
| genus = Euphorbia
| species = pulcherrima
| authority = Willd. ex Klotzsch
}}

The '''poinsettia''' ({{IPAc-en|p|ɔɪ|n|ˈ|s|ɛ|t|(|i|)|ə}};<ref>{{cite book|title=Longman Pronunciation Dictionary|first=John C.|last=Wells|publisher=Longman|location=Harlow, England|year=1990|isbn=978-0-582-05383-0}} entry "poinsettia"</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=poinsettia|work=Dictionary.com|access-date=December 15, 2012|url= http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/poinsettia}}</ref><ref>{{cite OED|poinsettia|id=146608|date=September 2006|access-date=30 December 2022}}</ref> ''Euphorbia pulcherrima'') is a commercially important [[flowering plant]] species of the diverse spurge family [[Euphorbiaceae]]. Indigenous to Mexico and Central America, the poinsettia was first described by Europeans in 1834. It is particularly well known for its red and green foliage and is widely used in [[Christmas]] floral displays. It derives its common English name from [[Joel Roberts Poinsett]], the first [[United States Ambassador to Mexico|United States minister to Mexico]], who is credited with introducing the plant to the US in the 1820s. Poinsettias are shrubs or small trees, with heights of {{cvt|0.6|to|4|m|ft}}. Though often stated to be highly toxic, the poinsettia is not dangerous<ref name="poison"/> to pets or children. Exposure to the plant, even consumption, most often results in no effect,<ref name="Krenzelok"/> though it can cause nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.<ref name="poison"/>

Wild poinsettias occur from Mexico to southern Guatemala, growing on mid-elevation, Pacific-facing slopes. One population in the Mexican state of [[Guerrero]] is much further inland, however, and is thought to be the ancestor of most cultivated populations. Wild poinsettia populations are highly fragmented, as their habitat is experiencing largely unregulated [[deforestation]]. They were cultivated by the [[Aztecs]] for use in [[traditional medicine]]. They became associated with the Christmas holiday and are popular seasonal decorations. Every year in the United States, approximately 70 million poinsettias of many cultivated varieties are sold in a six-week period. Many of these poinsettias are grown by [[Paul Ecke Ranch]], which serves half the worldwide market and 70 percent of the US market.

==Taxonomy==
The poinsettia was [[species description|described]] as a new species in 1834 by the German scientist [[Johann Friedrich Klotzsch]].<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Allgemeine Gartenzeitung| title=Beschreibung zweier neuen Euphorbien aus Mexico| language=de| trans-title=Description of two new Euphorbia from Mexico| volume=2| page=27|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14572585| year=1834|first=J. F.| last=Klotzsch}}</ref> Klotzsch credited [[Carl Ludwig Willdenow]] with the [[specific epithet (botany)|species name]] "''pulcherrima''", and the [[Author citation (botany)|authority]] is given as Willd. ex Klotzsch. The [[holotype]] had been collected in Mexico during an 1803&ndash;1804 expedition by [[Alexander von Humboldt]] and [[Aimé Bonpland]].<ref>{{cite journal|jstor=41548995|title=The discovery, naming and typification of Euphorbia pulcherrima (Euphorbiaceae)|journal=[[Willdenowia (journal)|Willdenowia]]|volume=41|issue=2|pages=301–309|last1=Lack|first1=H. Walter|year=2011|doi=10.3372/wi.41.41212|s2cid=198149097 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

It was known by the common name "poinsettia" as early as 1836,<ref name="Taylor"/> derived from [[Joel Roberts Poinsett]], a botanist and the first US Minister to Mexico.<ref name="CSU"/> Possibly as early as 1826, Poinsett began sending poinsettias from Mexico back to his greenhouses in South Carolina.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://history.house.gov/Blog/2013/December/12-12-Poinsett/| title=Poinsett's Popular Poinsettia| website=History, Art & Archives: United States House of Representatives|access-date=14 November 2019| date=12 December 2013}}</ref> Prior to poinsettia, it was known as "'''Mexican flame flower'''" or "'''painted leaf'''".<ref name="Taylor"/>

== Description ==
[[File:Euphorbia_pulcherrima_(Barlovento)_04.jpg|thumb|A full-grown specimen of ''E. pulcherrima''|alt=A cluster of red and green leaves leans toward the viewer on long, bent branches bursting out from a main plant on the base of a rock wall.]]
[[File:Euphorbia pulcherrima Blanco1.167-cropped.jpg|thumb|alt=A colored illustration shows the tip of a wild poinsettia branch. The leaves are less densely clustered. Leaves are long and ovate; most are red but one is green, and one is red at the base and green at the tip.|Scientific illustration of ''E. pulcherrima'', ca. 1880]]
''Euphorbia pulcherrima'' is a shrub or small tree, typically reaching a height of {{convert|0.6|-|4|m|ft|0}}. The plant bears dark green [[Crenate|dentate]] leaves that measure {{convert|6|-|16|cm|in}} in length. The colored [[bracts]]&mdash;which are normally flaming red, with cultivars being orange, pale green, cream, pink, white, or marbled&mdash;are often mistaken for flower [[petal]]s because of their groupings and colors, but are actually leaves.<ref name="Poinsettia Facts"/><ref name="UoVE"/> The colors of the bracts are created through [[photoperiodism]], meaning that they require darkness (at least fourteen hours at a time for 6&ndash;8 weeks in a row) to change color. The plants also require abundant light during the day for the brightest color.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://extension.sdstate.edu/are-you-photoperiodic-poinsettias-are|title=Are you Photoperiodic? Poinsettias Are| date=4 December 2018| first=David| last=Graper| website=SDSU Extension| publisher=South Dakota State University}}</ref> [[Semi-evergreen]], they generally lose most of their leaves during winter.<ref>[https://www.ukhouseplants.com/plants/poinsettia Why Do Poinsettias Die After Christmas?] POINSETTIA. ukhouseplants. Retrieved 15 August, 2023.</ref>

The flowers of the poinsettia are unassuming. They are grouped within the [[cyathium|cyathia]] (small yellow structures found in the center of each leaf bunch, or false flowers).<ref name="Poinsettia Facts">{{cite web | url=http://urbanext.illinois.edu/poinsettia/facts.cfm | title= Poinsettia Facts| publisher=[[University of Illinois]] Extension | work=The Poinsettia Pages | access-date=January 30, 2017 |author1=Seltzer, Erica D. |author2=Spinner, MaryAnne}}</ref> Nothing is known about [[pollination]] in wild poinsettias, though [[wasp]]s are noted to occasionally visit the cyathia.<ref name="Trejo"/> All flowers in the Euphorbiaceae are [[Unisexual flowers|unisexual]] (either male or female only), and they are often very small in size. In ''Euphorbia'', the flowers are reduced even more and then aggregated into an [[inflorescence]] or cluster of flowers.<ref>{{Cite web|title=EUPHORBIA PBI|url=http://www.euphorbiaceae.org/pages/about_euphorbia.html|access-date=2020-12-11|website=www.euphorbiaceae.org|archive-date=March 28, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090328121630/http://www.euphorbiaceae.org/pages/about_euphorbia.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Extrafloral nectaries]] in ''E. pulcherrima'' were first reported by Zimmerman in 1932.<ref>{{cite journal |date=2012-10-18 |first1=Marjorie G. |last1=Weber |first2=Kathleen H. |last2=Keeler |title=The phylogenetic distribution of extrafloral nectaries in plants |pages=1251–1261 |doi=10.1093/aob/mcs225 |journal=Annals of Botany |eissn=1095-8290 |volume=111 |issue=6|pmc=3662505 }}</ref>

==Toxicity==
[[File:Poinsettia deadly newspaper.png|thumb|alt=A newspaper clipping; the headline says "Poinsettia Deadly Says Scientist", while the subtitle says "Carl H. Willing", Horticulturalist and Forester, Brings Grave Charge Against one of Hawaii's Most Beautiful Flowers"|Newspaper headline from the ''[[Honolulu Star-Bulletin]]'' (1913) wrongly alleging that poinsettia is deadly]]
Poinsettias are popularly, though incorrectly, said to be toxic to humans and other animals.<ref name="Krenzelok" /> This misconception was spread by a 1919 [[urban legend]] of a two-year-old child dying after consuming a poinsettia leaf.<ref name="snopes">{{cite web|url= http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/poinsettia.asp|title=Poisonous Poinsettias|website=[[Snopes.com]]|access-date=December 16, 2008|date=2007-12-06}}</ref> In 1944, the plant was included in H. R. Arnold's book ''Poisonous Plants of Hawaii'' on this premise. Though Arnold later admitted that the story was hearsay and that poinsettias were not proven to be poisonous, the plant was thus thought deadly. In 1970 the US [[Food and Drug Administration]] published a newsletter stating erroneously that "one poinsettia leaf can kill a child", and in 1980 they were prohibited from nursing homes in a county in North Carolina due to this supposed toxicity.<ref name="Krenzelok">{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/S0735-6757(96)90086-8|pmid=8906768|title=Poinsettia exposures have good outcomes … just as we thought|journal=The American Journal of Emergency Medicine|volume=14|issue=7|pages=671–674|year=1996|last1=Krenzelok|first1=Edward P.|last2=Jacobsen|first2=T.D|last3=Aronis|first3=John M.}}</ref>

An attempt to determine a poisonous dose of poinsettia to rats failed, even after reaching experimental doses equivalent to consuming 500 leaves, or nearly {{cvt|1|kg|lb}} of sap.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1136/bmj.a2769|pmid=19091758|title=Festive medical myths|journal=BMJ|volume=337|pages=a2769|year=2008|last1=Vreeman|first1=R. C.|last2=Carroll|first2=A. E.|s2cid=29006871}}</ref> Contact with any part of the plant by children or pets often has no effect, though it may cause nausea, diarrhea, or vomiting if swallowed. External exposure to the plant may result in a skin rash for some.<ref name="poison">{{cite web|url=https://www.poison.org/articles/2014-dec/poinsettias| title=Poinsettias| website=Poison Control|publisher=National Capital Poison Center| access-date=26 November 2019}}</ref> A survey of more than 20,000 calls to the [[American Association of Poison Control Centers]] from 1985&ndash;1992 related to poinsettia exposure showed no fatalities. In 92.4% of calls, there was no effect from exposure, and in 3.4% of calls there were minor effects, defined as "minimally bothersome".<ref name="Krenzelok" /> Similarly, a cat's or dog's exposure to poinsettias rarely necessitates medical treatment. If ingested, mild drooling or vomiting can occur, or rarely, diarrhea. In rare cases, exposure to the eye may result in eye irritation. Skin exposure to the sap may cause itchiness, redness, or swelling.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poison/poinsettia/| title=Poinsettia| website=Pet Poison Helpline|access-date=31 December 2019}}</ref> It can induce [[asthma]] and [[allergic rhinitis]] in certain groups of people.<ref name="pmid15355476">{{cite journal |vauthors=Ibáñez MD, Fernández-Nieto M, Martínez J, Cardona GA, Guisantes J, Quirce S, Sastre J |title=Asthma induced by latex from 'Christmas flower' (Euphorbia pulcherrima) |journal=[[Allergy]] |volume=59 |issue=10 |pages=1127–8 |date=October 2004 |pmid=15355476 |doi=10.1111/j.1398-9995.2004.00404.x |s2cid=33808029 |url= |issn=}}</ref><ref name="pmid24717779">{{cite journal |vauthors=Aydin Ö, Erkekol FÖ, Misirloigil Z, Demirel YS, Mungan D |title=Allergic sensitization to ornamental plants in patients with allergic rhinitis and asthma |journal=[[Allergy and Asthma Proceedings]] |volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=e9–14 |date=2014 |pmid=24717779 |doi=10.2500/aap.2014.35.3733 |url= |issn=}}</ref>

==Chemical composition==
Pulcherrol and pulcherryl acetate are among the components of its latex.<ref name="pmid19943357">{{cite journal |vauthors=Singh SK, Yadav RP, Singh A |date=January 2010 |title=Molluscicides from some common medicinal plants of eastern Uttar Pradesh, India |url= |journal=[[Journal of Applied Toxicology]] |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=1–7 |doi=10.1002/jat.1498 |issn= |pmid=19943357 |s2cid=22369538 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="pmid6049711">{{cite journal |vauthors=Dominguez XA, Garcia Delgado J, De Lourdes Maffey M, Mares JG, Rombold C |date=September 1967 |title=Chemical study of the latex, stems, bracts, and flowers of "Christmas Flower" (''Euphorbia pulcherrima'') I |journal=[[Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences]] |volume=56 |issue=9 |pages=1184–5 contd |doi=10.1002/jps.2600560931 |pmid=6049711}}</ref> [[Triterpene]]s are found in aerial parts of the plant, including its latex and leaves.<ref name="pmid905409">{{cite journal |vauthors=Baas WJ |date=August 1977 |title=Triterpenes in latex of Euphorbia pulcherrima |url= |journal=[[Planta Medica]] |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=1–8 |doi=10.1055/s-0028-1097550 |issn= |pmid=905409}}</ref><ref name="pmid8792663">{{cite journal |vauthors=Smith-Kielland I, Dornish JM, Malterud KE, Hvistendahl G, Rømming C, Bøckman OC, Kolsaker P, Stenstrøm Y, Nordal A |date=August 1996 |title=Cytotoxic triterpenoids from the leaves of Euphorbia pulcherrima |url= |journal=[[Planta Medica]] |volume=62 |issue=4 |pages=322–5 |doi=10.1055/s-2006-957893 |issn= |pmid=8792663}}</ref><ref name="pmid30858048">{{cite journal |vauthors=Dai Y, Liu S, Xu J, Zhao C, Gu Q |date=April 2019 |title=Triterpenoids from Euphorbia pulcherrima with inhibitory effects on osteoclastogenesis |url= |journal=[[Fitoterapia]] |volume=134 |issue= |pages=355–361 |doi=10.1016/j.fitote.2019.02.028 |issn= |pmid=30858048 |s2cid=75139105}}</ref><ref name="pmid31773124">{{cite journal |vauthors=Yu CX, Wang RY, Qi FM, Su PJ, Yu YF, Li B, Zhao Y, Zhi DJ, Zhang ZX, Fei DQ |date=December 2019 |title=Eupulcherol A, a triterpenoid with a new carbon skeleton from Euphorbia pulcherrima, and its anti-Alzheimer's bioactivity |url= |journal=[[Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry]] |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=76–80 |doi=10.1039/c9ob02334h |issn= |pmid=31773124 |s2cid=208319578}}</ref> One such triterpenoid skeleton is being investigated for its anti-Alzheimer's disease bioactivity.<ref name="pmid31773124" />

==Range and habitat==
The poinsettia occurs in North and Central America, from Mexico to southern Guatemala. Its range is about {{cvt|2000|km|mi}} long, encompassing mid-elevation [[Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests|tropical dry forests]]. Most wild populations are on Pacific-facing slopes in steep canyons. Populations were once found in rolling hill areas, though many have gone extinct. It has been hypothesized that the inaccessibility of the canyons may protect the wild populations from human disturbance. There is a somewhat anomalous population of wild poinsettias in the northern part of the Mexican state of [[Guerrero]] and [[Oaxaca]], which is much further inland in the hot and seasonally dry forests than the rest of the species' range. Genetic analyses showed that the wild populations in northern Guerrero are the likely ancestors of most cultivated poinsettias.<ref name="Trejo"/>

==Conservation==
The tropical dry forests where wild poinsettias grow experience largely unregulated deforestation, resulting in habitat loss. Its natural habitat is thus highly [[habitat fragmentation|fragmented]], particularly near metropolitan areas such as [[Taxco]]. Population sizes are frequently very small, with as few as a dozen individuals. Populations can be up to several hundred individuals, but this is not typical. A conservation risk typical for species with wild and cultivated populations is the contamination of the wild gene pool by hybridization with cultivated individuals. This has not been documented in wild poinsettias, though, as cultivars seldom flower and do not produce fruits. As of 2012, wild poinsettias were not protected by Mexican law.<ref name="Trejo"/>

==In culture==
Aztec people use the plant to produce red dye and as an [[antipyretic]] medication.<ref name="Poinsettia Facts"/> In [[Nahuatl]], the language of the [[Aztecs]], the plant is called {{lang|nah|cuetlaxōchitl}}, meaning "flower that grows in residues or soil",<ref name="Poinsettia Facts"/> or, literally, "excrement flower", because: "Birds would eat the seeds and deposit them somewhere, and so it seemed that the seeds would germinate and grow from bird droppings."<ref>{{cite book | last=Schrader | first=Dennis | title=Extraordinary Leaves | publisher=Firefly | publication-place=Buffalo, NY | date=2008 | isbn=978-1-55407-387-0| page = 26}}</ref> Today it is known in Mexico and Guatemala as {{lang|es|flor de nochebuena}} or simply {{lang|es|nochebuena}}, meaning "Christmas Eve flower".<ref name="Poinsettia Facts"/> In Spain it is known as {{lang|es|flor de Pascua}} or {{lang|es|Pascua}}, meaning "[[Easter]] flower".<ref name="Poinsettia Facts"/> In Chile and Peru, the plant became known as the "crown of the Andes".<ref name="Poinsettia Facts"/>

From the 17th century, friars of the Franciscan Christian [[Religious order#Christianity|religious order]] in Mexico included the plants in their Christmas celebrations.<ref>{{cite web|last=Jauron |first=Richard |url=http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/1995/12-8-1995/trad.html |title=The Legends and Traditions of Holiday Plants |work=Horticulture and Home Pest News |publisher=Iowa State University |date=December 8, 1995 |access-date=November 27, 2017}}</ref> The star-shaped leaf pattern is said to symbolize the [[Star of Bethlehem]], the red color represents the blood shed during the sacrifice of [[crucifixion of Jesus|Jesus' crucifixion]], and the white leaves represent the purity of Jesus.<ref name="Caviness2020">{{cite web |url=https://www.umc.org/en/content/the-poinsettia-tells-jesus-life-story |title=The poinsettia: Jesus' life story in a plant |website=United Methodist Church |first=Crystal|last=Caviness |access-date=27 January 2020}}</ref> The use of the poinsetta during Christmastide is additionally related to a Christian folk story in Mexico about a poor girl named Pepita:<ref name="Caviness2020"/>

{{quotation|Pepita had no present to offer baby Jesus at the Christmas Eve service. As she walked to church, she noticed weeds growing alongside the road. She gathered a bouquet of weeds (some accounts say she did this at the urging of an angel). When Pepita laid her bouquet at the feet of the Christ Child, the weeds burst into bright red flowers. From that night on, the poinsettia was known as "Flores de Noche Buena," or "Flowers of the Holy Night."<ref name="Caviness2020"/>}}

Poinsettias are popular Christmas decorations<ref name=bussell/> in homes, churches, offices, and elsewhere across North America, as a result of an extensive marketing campaign by the Ecke family that began by shipping free poinsettias to television stations for use on-air.<ref name=lat/> In the US, December 12 is National Poinsettia Day, marking the anniversary of Joel Roberts Poinsett's death.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://poinsettiaday.com/bill.html |title=Poinsettia Day Bill of Congress |publisher=Poinsettiaday.com |date=July 22, 2002 |access-date=November 27, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/how-americas-most-popular-potted-plant-captured-christmas-180949299/ |title=How America's Most Popular Potted Plant Captured Christmas |website=Smithsonian.com |first=Erica R. |last=Hendry |date=12 December 2013 |access-date=8 December 2019}}</ref>

==Cultivation==
[[File:Euphorbia_pulcherrima_in_Viherlandia.jpg|thumb|Euphorbia pulcherrima in Viherlandia|alt=Many euphorbia pulcherrima flowers, all the same height, growing in a very large cylindrical greenhouse with white walls. A number of growing lights hang from the ceiling.]]
The [[Aztecs]] were the first to cultivate poinsettias.<ref name="CSU">{{cite report|url=https://mountainscholar.org/bitstream/handle/10217/183252/AEXT_074122009fs.pdf?sequence=16|id=7.412|title=Poinsettias|publisher=Colorado State University Extension|access-date=14 November 2019|date=November 2009}}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Cultivation in the US began when diplomat Joel Roberts Poinsett sent some of the plants back to his greenhouses in South Carolina in the 1820s. Specific details about its spread from there are largely unverifiable, but it was exhibited at the [[Pennsylvania Horticultural Society]]'s 1829 [[Philadelphia Flower Show]] by Colonel Robert Carr.<ref name="Taylor">{{cite journal |url=https://www.actahort.org/chronica/pdf/ch5103.pdf#page=23 |title=The Poinsettia: History and Transformation |journal=Chronica Horticulturae |volume=51 |issue=3 |year=2011 |pages=23–27 |first1=Judith M. |last1=Taylor |first2=Roberto G. |last2=Lopez |first3=Christopher J. |last3=Currey |first4=Jules |last4=Jan |access-date=November 14, 2019 |archive-date=November 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127120648/https://www.actahort.org/chronica/pdf/ch5103.pdf#page=23 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Carr described it as "a new ''[[Euphorbia]]'' with bright scarlet bracts or floral leaves, presented to the Bartram Collection by Mr. Poinsett, United States Minister of Mexico."<ref name="Taylor" />

The poinsettia is the world's most economically important potted plant.<ref name="Trejo">{{cite journal|doi=10.3732/ajb.1200072|pmid=22763354|title=Poinsettia's wild ancestor in the Mexican dry tropics: Historical, genetic, and environmental evidence|journal=American Journal of Botany|volume=99|issue=7|pages=1146–1157|year=2012|last1=Trejo|first1=L.|last2=Feria Arroyo|first2=T. P.|last3=Olsen|first3=K. M.|last4=Eguiarte|first4=L. E.|last5=Arroyo|first5=B.|last6=Gruhn|first6=J. A.|last7=Olson|first7=M. E.|s2cid=23653130}}</ref> Each year in the US, approximately 70 million poinsettias are sold in a period of six weeks, at a value of US$250 million.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://virtualfieldday.ifas.ufl.edu/poinsettias.shtml |title=Poinsettias |website=Florida Virtual Field Day |publisher=University of Florida IFAS |access-date=7 December 2019 |date=2 July 2014}}</ref> In Puerto Rico, where poinsettias are grown extensively in greenhouses, the industry is valued at $5 million annually.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1094/PD-90-1459A|pmid=30780920|title=First Report of Wilt and Stem Canker of Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) Caused by Phytophthora nicotianae in Puerto Rico|journal=Plant Disease|volume=90|issue=11|pages=1459|year=2006|last1=Estevez De Jensen|first1=C.|last2=Abad|first2=G.|last3=Roberts|first3=P.|last4=Rosa|first4=E.|doi-access=free}}</ref> There are over 100 cultivated varieties of poinsettia that have been [[Plant breeders' rights|patented]] in the US.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/newsletter/inventors-eye/patently-poinsettia |title=Patently Poinsettia |website=US Patent and Trademark Office |first=Elizabeth |last=Dougherty |date=10 June 2016 |access-date=8 December 2019 |archive-date=December 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191208191529/https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/newsletter/inventors-eye/patently-poinsettia |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Poinsettia Facts"/><ref name="UoVE">{{cite web |url=http://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/points.htm |title=Fun Facts About Poinsettia |publisher=[[University of Vermont]] Extension, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences |work=Perry's Perennial Pages |access-date=May 7, 2014 |author=Perry, Leonard |archive-date=September 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190914050502/http://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/points.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

To produce extra axillary buds that are necessary for plants containing multiple flowers, a [[phytoplasma]] infection—whose symptoms include the [[cell growth|proliferation]] of axillary buds—is used.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=I.-M. |last2=Klopmeyer |first2=M. |last3=Bartoszyk |first3=I. M. |last4=Gundersen-Rindal |first4=D. E. |last5=Chou |first5=T.-S. |last6=Thomson |first6=K. L. |last7=Eisenreich |first7=R. |title=Phytoplasma induced free-branching in commercial poinsettia cultivars |journal=Nature Biotechnology |date=1997 |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=178–182 |doi=10.1038/nbt0297-178 |pmid=9035146 |s2cid=11228113 }}</ref> The discovery of the role phytoplasmas play in the growth of axillary buds is credited to Ing-Ming Lee of the [[USDA]] [[Agricultural Research Service]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Kaplan |first=Kim |url=http://blogs.usda.gov/2015/12/01/poinsettias-helping-an-icon-to-bloom-at-the-right-time/#more-62176 |title=Poinsettias: Helping an Icon to Bloom at the Right Time |publisher=USDA |date=December 1, 2015 |access-date=November 27, 2017 |archive-date=March 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301152721/http://blogs.usda.gov/2015/12/01/poinsettias-helping-an-icon-to-bloom-at-the-right-time/#more-62176 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===American industry===
Albert Ecke emigrated from Germany to [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] in 1900, opening a dairy and orchard in the [[Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, California|Eagle Rock]] area. He became intrigued by the plant and sold them from street stands. His son, Paul Ecke, developed the grafting technique, but it was the third generation of Eckes, Paul Ecke Jr., who was responsible for advancing the association between the plant and Christmas.<ref name=lat/>

Besides changing the market from mature plants shipped by rail to [[cutting (plant)|cutting]]s sent by air, he sent free plants to television stations for them to display on air from Thanksgiving to Christmas. He also appeared on television programs like ''[[The Tonight Show]]'' and [[Bob Hope]]'s Christmas specials to promote the plants.<ref name=lat>{{cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-poinsettia23-2008dec23,0,899159.story |title=The bloom is off the poinsettia business |first=Mike |last=Anton |date=December 23, 2008 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=December 28, 2008}}</ref>

Until the 1990s, the Ecke family, who had moved their operation to [[Encinitas, California]], in 1923, had a virtual monopoly on poinsettias owing to a technique that made their plants much more attractive. They produced a fuller, more compact plant by [[grafting]] two varieties of poinsettia together. A poinsettia left to grow on its own will naturally take an open, somewhat weedy look. The Eckes' technique made it possible to get every seedling to branch, resulting in a bushier plant.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://site.extension.uga.edu/cherokee/2015/12/poinsettia-background-on-a-christmas-tradition/ |title=Cultivating Cherokee County |website=UGA Extension |access-date=8 December 2019 |date=10 December 2015 |first=Joan |last=McFather}}</ref>

In the late 1980s, university researcher John Dole discovered the grafting method (grafting rarer densely-branched cultivars onto more common sparsely-branched cultivars) – previously known only to the Eckes – and published it.<ref>A GRAFT-TRANSMISSIBLE FACTOR IN EUPHORBIA PULCHERRIMA CAUSING PERMANENT CHANGES IN BRANCHING AND ANOTHER MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS J. Dole, H. Wilkins, ISHS Acta Horticulturae 226, 1987, https://www.actahort.org/books/226/226_34.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126235942/http://www.actahort.org/books/226/226_34.htm |date=November 26, 2021 }}</ref> This allowed competitors to flourish, particularly those using low-cost labor in [[Latin America]]. The Ecke family's business, now led by Paul Ecke III, decided to stop producing plants in the US, but as of 2008, they still served about 70 percent of the domestic market and 50 percent of the worldwide market.<ref name=lat/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/12/22/573046507/how-poinsettias-became-synonymous-with-christmas |title=How Poinsettias Became Synonymous With Christmas |website=NPR |date=22 December 2017 |access-date=8 December 2019 |first1=Ari |last1=Shapiro |first2=Michel |last2=Martin}}</ref>

===Diseases===
{{Main|List of poinsettia diseases}}
Poinsettias are susceptible to several diseases, mostly fungal, but also bacterial and parasitic. Conditions that promote poinsettia propagation also favor certain diseases. Fungal diseases affecting greenhouse poinsettia operations include ''[[Pythium]]'' root rot, ''[[Rhizoctonia solani|Rhizoctonia]]'' root and stem rot, [[Thielaviopsis basicola|black root rot]], [[Sphaceloma poinsettiae|scab]], [[powdery mildew]], and ''[[Botrytis cinerea|Botrytis]]'' blight. Bacterial diseases include [[bacterial soft rot]] and bacterial [[canker]], while a viral disease is ''[[Poinsettia mosaic virus]]''. Infection by poinsettia branch-inducing phytoplasma is actually desirable, as it keeps the plants shorter with more flowers. It is the first known [[phytoplasma]] that has economically advantageous effects.<ref>{{cite report |url=https://plantpathology.ca.uky.edu/files/ppfs-gh-06.pdf |title=Plant Pathology Fact Sheet: Poinsettia Diseases |first1=John R. |last1=Hartman |first2=Cheryl A. |last2=Kaiser |date=2010 |publisher=Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service |id=PPFS-GH-06}}</ref>
{{clear}}

== Gallery ==
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Open wing nectaring of Cethosia cyane Drury, 1770 – Leopard Lacewing (Male) on Euphorbia pulcherrima.jpg|alt=A male leopard lacewing butterfly, which was orange wings with a black outline, landing on top of a poinsettia stalk. Red leaves tilt downwards in a circle around the top, which has yellow flower buds on it|A male [[Cethosia cyane|leopard lacewing]] butterfly landing on a poinsettia
File:Euphorbia pulcherrima inflorescence.JPG|alt=An inflorescence of the plant; a bud bulging off from the end of a stem, colored red at the end, with a yellow feature like a pair of lips on the side and a green bulb with a long red top reaching out from inside.|An inflorescence of the plant
File:Euphorbia-pulcherrima-polen.jpg|alt=The pollen of the plant; objects like gray-brown oval seeds, seen under a microscope. A scale line says "200 micrometers"|The pollen of the plant 
File:Euphorbia pulcherrima (Barlovento) 01.jpg|A hedge consisting primarily of poinsettias growing along a road in [[Barlovento, Santa Cruz de Tenerife|Barlovento]], [[La Palma]]. |alt=A hedge of poinsettias, about five feet tall, leaning over onto a street. There are few leaves, appearing bare, and many red flowers on long and twisting wood stalks.
File:BocaueChurchjf0105 13.JPG|alt=A dozen poinsettias sit on the ground in front of an altar draped in white. A priest vested in white stands behind the altar.|Poinsettias in a church in the Philippines
File:Poinsettia 01.jpg|Poinsettia in Kolkata, West Bengal, India
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Christmas in Mexico]]
*[[Christmas plants]]

==References==
{{Reflist|refs =
<ref name = bussell>{{cite journal|journal=[[Southern Living]]|date=December 2009|title=Get Ready for Holiday Flowers|last=Bussell|first=Gene|volume=44|issue=12|page = 88}}</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |title=The Ecke Poinsettia Manual |author1=Paul Ecke III |author2=James E. Faust |author3=Jack A. Williams |author4=Andy Higgins |year=2004 |isbn=978-1883052416 |publisher=Chicago Review Press}}

==External links==
{{EB1911 Poster|Poinsettia}}
*{{Wikibooks-inline|Horticulture|Euphorbia pulcherrima}}
*{{Commons-inline|Euphorbia pulcherrima}}

{{Christmas}}
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[[Category:Christian folklore]]
[[Category:Christmas plants]]
[[Category:Euphorbia|pulcherrima]]
[[Category:Flora of Central Mexico]]
[[Category:Mexican folklore]]
[[Category:Mexican legends]]
[[Category:Christmas in Mexico]]
[[Category:Plants with extrafloral nectaries]]