These gorgeous shrub produces deep red, star shaped flowers once a year over the Christmas festival.
The story associated with the flower tells of two poor, young siblings who wanted to bring a gift to the manger scene at their local church in Mexico on Christmas Eve.
Being poor, all they could bring was some leaves they plucked from the roadside, but when they were placed in the manger the stunning red flowers emerged from the leaves created a lovely setting for the holy scene.
In fact, it is the leaves that have turned red and the flowers are actually the small yellow blossoms in the centre.
Festive Flowers – Poinsettia