~Poinsettias on Maui~
Size about 24" X 24"

Poinsettia

Given as gifts and used for decoration around the holidays, the Poinsettia evokes the images and warm feelings of Christmas. The Poinsettia is actually native to southern Mexico and Central America, where it is a tree up to 30 ft tall. Joel Poinsett, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, is said to have introduced it in 1828 to the U.S., where it is trimmed and kept as a shrub, usually no more than 10 ft tall.

What we commonly think of as the flowers are actually large, often bright-colored modified leaves (bracts) around the true flowers, which are bunched in greenish, button-like clusters. These leaves range in color from white through yellow to pink, salmon, and scarlet.

In Hawaii, as well as in other northern hemisphere tropical climates (or even indoors) flowering occurs from November through March and is triggered by shortening days (with lengthening nights). Poinsettia thrives in Hawaii, especially in cooler, drier areas at mid-elevations (1500-3000 ft elevation), such as in Kula (Maui) and Kona (Hawaii).