I am not sure that I like the Euphorbia pulcherrima (Poinsettia) as a flowering plant. At least, I did not before I came to Mallorca.

I have never lived in Mexico, nor Chile, nor Peru, hence I had never seen this plant other than as a potted plant, usually indoors. Here in Mallorca, however, I have seen magnificent Poinsettia shrubs, and let me assure you, this plant is a splendid decorum for any garden that you might want to have. In nature, Poinsettias are perennial flowering shrubs that can grow to 3 to 4 m tall (ten to 12 feet, if you must know).

The plant takes its common name for an US American ambassador who brought the plant from his assigned post in Mexico back to the States, sometime in 1828. As it happens, there will be a National Poinsettia Day tomorrow, December 12th, in the US of A. No such occasion, here in Spain, nor here in Mallorca.

Over the last three or four years, there were massively big Christmas trees put up at Palma’s PMI airport. The trees were composites of small potted Poinsettias; very attractive, very Christmas-y and yet, very Mediterranean.

The photo (top) was chosen from my archive. It was taken in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. The date: December 9th, 2007. The time was 11:10:55. The photo (below) was borrowed from the internet; credit is due to the photographer, Cindy. Thank you very much. Her photo seems to have been taken in Costa Rica.