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From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report in Special English. |
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Poinsettias are the best-selling potted flowering plant in the United States. |
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Red poinsettias are a traditional part of Christmas celebrations, |
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which is why almost all of them are sold at wintertime. |
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The Department of Agriculture estimates |
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that Americans bought $250 million worth of poinsettias last year. |
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The poinsettia is native to Central America and needs warmth to grow. |
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Bright red poinsettias are the best known. |
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But there are about one hundred different kinds, |
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in colors including white, pink, yellow and purple. |
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The flowers of the poinsettia are very small. |
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Around the flowers are colorful leaves called bracts. |
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These bracts are what give the plants their beauty. |
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The poinsettia is named for Joel Roberts Poinsett from South Carolina. |
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In 1825 President John Quincy Adams appointed him as the United States' first minister to Mexico. |
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Poinsett had an interest in plants. He saw the colorful plants growing in the wild. |
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Wild poinsettias can grow up to four meters tall. |
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He liked them so much that he sent some cuttings back to the United States. |
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The botanical name for the plant is Euphorbia pulcherrima. |
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In Latin, that means "most beautiful euphorbia." |
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There are hundreds of related plants, including rubber trees, |
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trees that produce castor and tung oil, and the cassava, a root crop. |
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can develop a mild skin rash from poinsettia plants. |
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Babies and pets that chew on poinsettias can get sick. |
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But experts say the plant is not as poisonous as some people think. |
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In the 1920s, Albert Ecke and his son Paul became interested |
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in the poinsettia's ability to flower in winter. |
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Paul Ecke thought it would be a good plant to display at Christmastime. |
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They started a farm near Encinitas, California. |
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At first, Paul Ecke, and later his son, grew large plants in fields. |
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Then they sent them to growers by train. |
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Growers would divide the large plants into cuttings, |
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to raise smaller ones in greenhouses until the holidays. |
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In the 1960s came poinsettias that grew best in containers. |
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The Eckes started to sell cuttings from these new plants. |
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Today Ecke Ranch remains a major supplier in the United States and around the world. |
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In August, Paul Ecke's grandson announced |
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that the company was joining the Dutch-based Agribio Group. |
