Spotted poinsettia Dec 12, 2025

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.

© DigiPub/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Dec 12, 2023Poinsettias
Dec 12, 2024Poinsettia flower

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Feb 12, 2026Blue-footed booby, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
Dec 9, 2025Guanaco, Argentina
Nov 12, 2023Mallard ducks
Nov 11, 2023Val di Funes, South Tyrol, Italy
Nov 24, 2023Hoh Rain Forest, Olympic National Park, Washington, USA
Nov 13, 2023Serra de Tramuntana, Balearic Islands, Majorca, Spain
Apr 16, 2025Kachina Bridge, Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah, United States
Jan 8, 2026Yellow-chevroned parakeets
Sep 8, 2023The Circus, Bath, Somerset, England
Oct 25, 2023Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA
Feb 6, 2025Archway Islands, Wharariki Beach, South Island, New Zealand
Aug 31, 2024Sahara, Algeria
Mar 24, 2024Silvereyes, South Korea
Nov 14, 2023Russell lupines, Lake Tekapo, New Zealand
Sep 6, 2024Glenariff Forest Park, Northern Ireland, UK
Jul 18, 2024Coral reef in the Indian Ocean, Mayotte, France
Feb 14, 2024Red-crowned crane
Aug 23, 2024Prasat Phanom Rung temple ruins, Thailand
Aug 12, 2024African elephants, Amboseli National Park, Kenya
Jun 11, 2025Greater flamingos
Nov 6, 2024Shi Shi Beach in Olympic National Park, Washington, USA
Apr 7, 2025North American beaver, Moran, Wyoming, United States
Jan 23, 2026Þorrablót, Icelandic midwinter festival
Sep 7, 2025Gdańsk, Poland
Mar 15, 2024Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California, USA
Jul 31, 2025Kalalau Beach on the Nā Pali Coast, Kauai, Hawaii, United States
Oct 3, 2025Glen Brittle, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Oct 17, 2023Torra di a Parata, Corsica, France
May 20, 2024Bee tending a honeycomb
Sep 12, 2023North Sea at sunset, Norddorf, Germany