Monday, December 14, 2009

#336: Euphorbia Pulcherrima


Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Genus: Euphorbia
Species: E. pulcherrima


Indigenous to Mexico and named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, the poinsettia's association with Christmas began in 16th century Mexico where legend tells of a young girl who was too poor to provide a gift for the celebration of Jesus' birthday.

The girl was inspired by an angel to gather weeds from a roadside and place them in front of the church altar. Crimson "blossoms" sprouted from the weeds and became beautiful poinsettias.


.......................... Ruprecht ( STOP )
#336 of 365

6 comments:

Marissa said...

My family home was always scattered with poinsettias. My Dad always gave Mom the first plant of the season. After she passed away, he made certain he delivered a poinsettia plant to one of his daughters on Mom's birthday -- December 10.

TopSurf said...

Beautiful shot!

PG said...

i feel smarter now. rupe's edumacational!

Ms Mgt said...

Beauteous!

JT said...

Excellent colors and detail!

Ruprecht said...

Hey! JT's back!

Nice to see you, guy!