One of the most delightful decorations at Christmas is the poinsettia.
The usual color choice is the deep, vibrant red.
However, there is a wide array of other colors, including pink, white, marbled, speckled and yellow.
The colorful parts of the poinsettia, the bracts, are actually modified leaves.
The poinsettia flower is small, green or yellow and situated in the middle of the bracts.

The poinsettia is named after Joel R. Poinsett, who served as the USA's first ambassador to Mexico, from 1825-1829. He saw this indigenous plant with large scarlet leaves encircling small, greenish yellow blossoms, which was the Mexican Christmas flower.