National Poinsettia Day - Maree

"I express myself
in sketching and
painting since
I am not a poet."


"Poinsettia" pencil sketch and watercolour in Moleskine Watercolour Notebook

As I walked past the Poinsettia a while ago, I decided it was a perfect model to use for my daily exercise - a quick inspiration and nothing too complicated - and seeing as today is National Poinsettia Day, I decided to post it.

Pot plants make great subjects for sketching and painting and the same subject can be done from various angles, giving a completely different perspective of the play of light and shadow. This Poinsettia was just starting to flower and when it does, it will change from a caterpillar to a butterfly with the addition of its bright red flowers.

Mystery Plant.... Solved! - Pam Johnson Brickell

Behind my booth at the Bluffton Arts & Seafood Festival I discovered a plant I'd not seen before.  I was struck by Nature's red brushstrokes within the green leaves.  So much of the plant reminded me of a poinsettia but then not.

I posted this initial sketch on Flickr and asked if anyone had any idea what  this plant was called.  Several flickr friends said poinsettia.

I search all my books, but to no avail. I wanted to know this poinsettia like plant's latin name.

John Nelson of the University of South Carolina's Department of Biological Sciences came to the rescue.  I sent him my initial sketch and a couple of photographs I took.

Here's what he said: This plant is "fire on the mountain" or "painted leaf", Euphorbia cyathophora. It is indeed related to the poinsettias of commerce. This species is introduced, and is a bit weedy, but I don't think it is really invasive--

I so love it when a mystery can be solved! Thank you, John!!

Wild Poinsettia - Elizabeth Smith

Wild poinsettia, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

Wild Poinsettia
Poinsettia cyathophora
Euphorbia or spurge family

Another one of my favorite weeds, Wild Poinsettia grows in moist disturbed areas and pinelands, this one at the bottom of a chain link fence that borders a bike path and the back of a golf course. The golf course used to be a pine flatwoods habitat, and they kept the pines around the edges, but they spray herbicide nearly every year to keep the bike path from getting overgrown with weeds. These stands of Wild Poinsettia die back, but they return every summer. I’m glad I got to paint them before they disappeared.

The genus name Poinsettia honors Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States Ambassador to Mexico.  The species name cyathophora is from the Greek Cyathodes, meaning a small cup or urn, cup-bearing. I think the flowers do look like a collection of little cups.  It’s related to our beloved Christmas poinsettia, which is poisonous as well, and both have the milky sap that is characteristic of many Euphorbias.

Clicking on the image above will allow you to see it larger on my Flickr photostream.

~ Elizabeth Smith,Naples, FL, USA