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Jamaican Poinsettia
A trickster plant
The reddish-pink hues of this plant aren’t actually flowers – they are modified leaves known as bracts. Bracts are commonly associated with a plant’s reproductive structure, just as flowers are, but on a Jamaican poinsettia this is called a cyathium, or false flower. Just like other poinsettias, these maintain an association with Christmas by “flowering” from Christmas to midsummer.
- Latin Name: Euphorbia punicea
- IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (at relatively low risk of extinction)
- Type: Spurge plant
- Produces: Bracts and fruit
- Habitat: Jamaica and other Caribbean islands
- USDA Climate Zone: 10
- Size: Up to 10 metres tall
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facts about our plants
Fun Facts about Jamaican Poinsettias
The plant contains a latex sap that can be irritating to the skin.
Jamaican poinsettia can grow as a bush or as a tree.
This plant is known as an evergreen succulent shrub.
It has a sweet nectar enjoyed by warblers and honeybees.
It has a branching structure.
Jamaican poinsettia can produce balloon-shaped fruit.
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