What do you really know about this festive favourite?
IT’S the top-selling plant every Christmas – a staggering eight million will be sold in the UK this year alone – but how much do you know about the poinsettia?
digs up some facts about our favourite festive plant, with help from Squire’s Garden Centres (squiresgardencentres.co.uk), which sell 15,000 poinsettias a year.
HANNAH STEPHENSON
IT CAN GROW TO OVER 3.6M TALL
NOT in a small pot, but in its native habitat in tropical climates, it can grow to nearly four metres, with leaves measuring up to 20cm across. In fact, it’s classed as a small tropical tree – Euphorbia pulcherrima.
THE LEAVES CAN DYE FABRIC
for clothing, while the sap was said to help control fevers. Red was also considered a symbol of purity, so the plants were often used as part of religious ceremonies.
IT USED TO BE CONSIDERED A WEED
THE poinsettia is a native of Mexico, where it is called La Flor de Nochebuena, which translates to Flower of the Holy Night, referring to Christmas Eve. It was named after Dr Joel Roberts Poinsett, an amateur botanist and the first American ambassador to Mexico. He introduced the plant to the US in 1828, although initially, they were dismissed as weeds.
IT’S NOT AS POISONOUS AS YOU THINK
underneath a poinsettia and it was thought the child had eaten a leaf from the plant.
Researchers have since found that a child weighing 50lb would have to consume more than 500 poinsettia leaves to incur any ill effect.
They are also only mildly toxic to cats and dogs. Even a small dog would have to consume a huge amount of the poinsettia to have a serious reaction.
It is highly unlikely an animal would eat more than one bite, because the leaves taste so bitter. However, if you have pets, it’s worth keeping them away from the leaves, just in case.
And, like all euphorbias, the poinsettia has a milky sap which can produce skin problems if not washed off immediately.