On National Poinsettia Day we"re taking an up-close look at a poinsettia leaf. Although many people assume the red, white, pink, purple, or marbled colors are flowers, they"re actually bracts, a type of leaf that aids in reproduction, usually by turning color as the plant develops true flowers. On the poinsettia, the bracts, surrounding small yellow clustered buds called cyathia, flag down pollinators just as flower petals do.
What are we looking at?
Today in History
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Birds of a feather flocking together
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Hut, hut, hike!
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Skógafoss waterfall, Iceland
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A long winter’s nap, perhaps?
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Ponta Delgada
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And to think that I saw it in Cappadocia
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World Migratory Bird Day
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Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Liguria, Italy
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Happy World Laughter Day
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Sandstone formations in the badlands near Caineville, Utah
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Cecropia leaf and lobster claw petals in Mexico
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Oxbow Bend on the Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
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Forward-thinking women of history
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Under Parisian skies
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50 years of the Endangered Species Act
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Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming
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The citadel in Bonifacio, Southern Corsica, France
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Skagit Valley Tulip Festival
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Commemorating the life of a famous railroad conductor
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Wake up, it s Darwin Day
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Western Monarch Day
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Salzburg, Austria
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World Environment Day
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Autumnal equinox
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Bathing boxes at Brighton Beach, Australia
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Great horned owl
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Florentine garden brings generations together
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The snows of Fuji
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Frog Month
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Chestnut-eared aracari in the Pantanal, Brazil
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