Some plants simply sit quietly on windowsills. The poinsettia? It demands the spotlight. Bright, bold and as red as Rudolph"s nose, it is native to Mexico and Central America. In Mexico, it is known as the Flores de Nochebuena (Flowers of the Holy Night), a symbol of Christmas celebrations. The poinsettia"s common name comes from Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States minister to Mexico, who introduced it to the United States in the 1820s.
Spotted poinsettia
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Camels in the desert, United Arab Emirates
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Red deer stag in De Hoge Veluwe National Park, Netherlands
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Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho, USA
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Marie Lake, John Muir Wilderness near Bishop, California, USA
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Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park, California, USA
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Colonnade in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico
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Golden larches and Prusik Peak, Enchantments, Washington, USA
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Container ship near a commercial port in Thailand
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Sacré-Cœur Basilica, Paris
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African elephants in Namibia
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Eurasian lynx
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Amazon rainforest, Brazil
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Lagoon Nebula, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope
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Cape Breton Highlands, Nova Scotia, Canada
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La Rocque Harbour, Island of Jersey
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Beech tree in a cereal field, Hampshire, England
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Juvenile sunbittern displaying at nest, Ecuador
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Mount Sopris, Colorado, USA
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Bernina Pass, Graubünden, Switzerland
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Castell Coch, Tongwynlais, South Wales
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Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California, USA
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The Matterhorn reflected in Lake Stellisee at sunrise, Zermatt, Switzerland
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Eastbourne Pier, England
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Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, United States
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Everglades National Park, Florida
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Virginia Creeper Trail, Damascus, Virginia, United States
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Ostuni, Apulia, Italy
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Berlin Cathedral and Museum Island, Berlin, Germany
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Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, Canada
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Polar bears in the Arctic
Bing Wallpaper Gallery

