It is one of the most beautiful and most loved of the festive flowers: the Christmas Flower Poinsettia that RB Plant cultivates in Albenga and sells throughout the whole of Europe.
Here are some curious facts about this famous Christmas Flower that brightens up our festivities.
The Christmas Flower Poinsettia, that quintessential Christmas decoration, reminds us of a comet.
RB Plant in Albenga is focusing on the production and Europe-wide sale of the Poinsettia that is colouring our greenhouses in this period.
Did you know that the red parts are actually the leaves that take on this colour at certain times of the year?
Now we will explain everything. Read on!
Christmas Flower, Poinsettia: botanical name and origins
The botanical name of the Christmas Flower is Euphorbia pulcherrima, but it is probably best known as Poinsettia. Do you know how it got this name?
Native to from Mexico, the plant was not initially categorised as Euphorbia and was therefore given the name of the first American governor of Mexico.
Later it was understood to belong to the Euphorbiacee family of plants that includes cactus-like succulents, shrubs, small trees and herbaceous plants.
Christmas Flower, Poinsettia: appearance
In the wild, the Christmas Plant Poinsettia grows into a large shrub or small tree and can reach over three meters in height.
The plant has thin, bright green stems and dark foliage with thin, delicate, blade-shaped leaves.
In winter, large inflorescences develop at the ends of the stems. These growths are considered single flowers with large petals that are, in fact, bracts that underlie the inflorescences.
So, in fact, it is the leaves of the plant that take on a red, pink, white or variegated colouring among many others.
The true flowers of the Christmas Plant Poinsettia are, in reality, small and devoid of petals and green or yellow in colour.
There we are, a flowering plant turns to a variety of colours during the winter that can last from year to year by following a few simple tips. However, this will be explained next time.
