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Euphorbia pulcherrima
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Family:
EUPHORBIACEAE
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Citation: Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch. in Otto & Dietr., Allg. Gartenz. 2: 27. 1834; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 5: 239. 1887; Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 1278(894). 1925; Manilal & Sivar., Fl. Calicut 256. 1982; Mohanan, Fl. Quilon Dist. 366. 1984; Ramach. & V.J. Nair, Fl. Cannanore Dist. 417. 1988; Babu, Fl. Malappuram Dist. 713. 1990; Sivar. & Mathew, Fl. Nilambur 621. 1997; Anil Kumar et al., Fl. Pathanamthitta 446. 2005; N.P.Balakr. & Chakrab., Fam. Euphorbiaceae India 279. 2007; Sunil & Sivadasan, Fl. Alappuzha Dist. 630. 2009.
Poinsettia pulcherrima (Willd. ex Klotzsch.) R. Graham, Edin. New Phil. J. 20: 412. 1836.
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Malayalam Name(s):
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Tamil name(s):
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English name(s):
Christmas flower, Poinsettia
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Description:
Densely leafy shrubs; branchlets terete; glabrous; latex milky, copious. Leaves alternate, ovate-lanceolate in outline, 18 x 12 cm, pubescent below, base cuneate with 1 or 2 blunt teeth lateral on the margins, apex acuminate; petiole to 7 cm; stipules glandular, caducous. Inflorescence terminal, of cyathia on branched, stout peduncles, subtended by crimson to yellow bracts; bracts (ob)lanceolate, often oblique, to 8 x 3 cm; peduncles to 1.5 cm. Cyathia globose to ovoid, 1 x 0.7 cm, green below and red at the laciniate apex, with a lateral conical yellow gland, 6 x 4 cm. Staminate: Numerous, each consisting of a stamen with a glabrous filament and two 1-celled anthers surrounded by sterile staminate flowers. Pistillate flower(s): 1 or 2 in each cyathium, each consisting of a 3-angled ovary, thrust out of the cyathium on maturity, jointed to a pedicel, 3-celled, with 1 ovule per cell, on axile placentae; styles 3, jointed for most of the length; stigmas 2-fid.
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Habit:
Shrub
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Flowering & Fruiting:
August-January
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District(s):
All Districts
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Medicinal:
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Habitat:
Grown in gardens
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Distribution:
Native in Mexico and Central America, frequently cultivated in Tropical gardens
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Aquatic:
No
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Epiphyte(s):
No
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Saprophyte:
No
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Stem parasite:
No
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Root parasite:
No
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Flower colour(s):
Red
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Weed:
No
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Monocot/Dicot:
Dicotyledonous Plants
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Exotic:
Yes
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Garden:
Yes
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Edible:
No
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Vegetable:
No
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Endemic to:
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IUCN status:
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Altitude:
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Localities:
Chengannur
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