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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