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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Ocean City, Maryland, at sunrise
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The city of Osaka at night, Japan
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Tesla, the visionary
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Taking the forest to the cloud
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Falling for Tennessee
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Broken Beach in Nusa Penida, Bali, Indonesia
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Burrowing owls
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In orbit for Yuri s Night
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Tufa formations in Mono Lake, California
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National Park Week: Olympic National Park, Washington
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Rocky mountain pi
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Juvenile manatees in a freshwater spring, Crystal River, Florida
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Storks ready for takeoff
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Ancient art in the Amazon
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A medieval Moorish gem
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Ruins of a royal temple
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Okefenokee Swamp
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A keel-billed toucan in Costa Rica
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Whangārei Falls in New Zealand
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Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee
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The largest living organism on Earth
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Illuminating Annecy
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Waiānapanapa State Park, Maui, Hawaii
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Happy Hobbit Day
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Mardi Gras
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Reflections on Memorial Day
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World Bicycle Day
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Amber Fort, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
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Singing praises of the oceans
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Porto Timoni beach, Greece
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