Christmas red

Christmas red (scientific name: Euphorbia pulcherrima), also known as poinsettia, Christmas flower, is a plant of the Euphorbiaceae genus Euphorbia, a famous red flower used for decoration at Christmas. The leaves are red and green, and the exterior color is full of Christmas atmosphere, so it is called Christmas red.

Those red parts considered to be flowers are actually bracts, while the real flowers are in the middle of the leaf bundles. The leaves of the cultivated strains are usually made into orange, light green, cream and marble patterns. To achieve this effect, they should not be illuminated at night from October to Christmas. Even a small amount of light will prevent it from blooming.

The Christmas red is usually 60 cm to 3 meters high, and its dark green leaves are about 7 to 16 cm long. The topmost leaves are fire red, red or white, so they are often misunderstood as flowers.

The Christmas red flowers have a peculiar structure, the inflorescences are arranged in cymes, the male and female peanuts are in the same involucre, the female flowers are located in the center of many male flowers, and some inflorescences only have male flowers. There are one or two obvious glands/honey grooves outside the involucre, yellow, and two cleft lip.