Balkarji : Not officially called the x'mas plant, but yes it does bloom at x'mas time as the day gets shorter and nites longer and darker... and we buy them to decorate homes, hallways , offices, churches etc this time of the year...
The colloqiual name is POINSETTIA... Difficult to get them to bloom a second time around, I discovered that the trick is to cover them at nite if living in a city with high ambient light from streets etc... to get them to bloom... and in nov with chill in the air... it begins to develop the bracts... Native of central americas including Mexico, it got adapted for the red colored bracts by a nursery man in california who almost singlehandedly made it popular in this century with new fangled techniques of mass horticulture then prevalent in the 1920s...and his family had a monopoly on its production where millions of pots would all bloom just in time for xmas gift giving and decorating... originally he planted in california fields which later got sold and developed in to what is now known as HOLLYWOOD... but do you know the source of his plants from which he started the nursery business of this red plants? They were growing neglected on the roadsides in california, from earlier stocks introduced in USA by the ambassador Poinsett when he was posted in Mexico in 1800s and brought to plant in his own fields and give gifts to family and associates.. ( he was a fascinating persona .. he founded what would later come to be known as Smithsonian institution), so we commemorate him on December 10th or 12th by naming it Poisettia day...that's when the nursery trade used to start selling the red bracts plants... now we have several shades of red, white, pink, blue (?even, can you imagine it?) and some people sell sprayed them with sparkles...phew!!!! and no specific dates, we can even get them in summer if we looked hard enough.... The latex of this euphorbia is toxic, causes dermatitis in the nursery trade and others unwise to cut the plants and get the latex on skin repeatedly without gloves on... the flower/leaf extract is mildly antibacterial... my Filipino friends tell me villagers use it as a cathartic and for skin eruptions!!! go figure... Usha di ============== PS obviously planted in the Bot garden, are they studying it for its medicinal properties???? ================= On Dec 26, 10:53 am, Balkar Singh <[email protected]> wrote: > Thanks Swamy Ji i was not aware of this common name > > > > > > > > > > On Mon, Dec 26, 2011 at 11:11 AM, Mahadeswara <[email protected]> wrote: > > Common name christmas plant. > > > On Dec 26, 7:23 am, Balkar Singh <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Dear All > > > Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch from CCSHAU Campus Hisar > > > family Euphorbiaceae > > > Thanks > > > > -- > > > Regards > > > > Dr Balkar Singh > > > Head, Deptt. of Botany and Biotechnology > > > Arya P G College, Panipat > > > Haryana-132103 > > > 09416262964 > > > > Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch (1).JPG > > > 147KViewDownload > > > > Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch (2).JPG > > > 142KViewDownload > > > > Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch (3).JPG > > > 143KViewDownload > > -- > Regards > > Dr Balkar Singh > Head, Deptt. of Botany and Biotechnology > Arya P G College, Panipat > Haryana-132103 > 09416262964
