12 December: Poinsettia Day

It's Poinsettia Day, celebrating a plant often associated with Christmas (for the reason why, see fact #7).

1. The Latin name for Poinsettia is Euphorbia pulcherrima, and it comes from a very large family - the spurge family, which has about 300 genera, 37 tribes, three subfamilies and 7,500 species. Relatives of the poinsettia include cassava, castor oil plant, Barbados nut and the Para rubber tree. There are over 100 cultivated varieties of poinsettia.
2. The plant is native to Mexico where the Aztecs used it for Red dye and as a medicine to reduce fever. They called it Cuetlaxochitl, meaning "flower that grows in residues."
3. It was introduced to the US in 1825 by Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States Minister to Mexico. The common name for the plant in English derives from his name. He died on 12 December 1851, which is why December 12 is National Poinsettia Day.
4. It is known by other names in other countries. In Mexico and Guatemala it's Flor de Noche Buena, meaning Christmas Eve Flower. In Spain it is known as Flor de Pascua or Pascua, meaning Easter flower. In Chile and Peru they call it Crown of the Andes. In Turkey, it is called Atatürk's flower because Atatürk, the founder of the Republic, liked them. In Egypt they call it Bent El Consul, "the consul's daughter", referring to Joel Roberts Poinsett.
5. The red parts are not flowers, but bracts, a kind of specialist leaf. The flowers, or cyathia, are the small yellow structures in the middle of each bunch of leaves.
6. The red parts aren't always red, either. they can be Yellow, cream, salmon, apricot or White. If you see a Blue one, that's been produced artificially using dye.
7. For the bracts to change colour, they need stretches of twelve hours in the dark for five days in a row, interspersed with stretches of bright sunlight. And when I say dark, I mean dark - even light from a TV set or passing cars can affect the colour change.
8. The plant's association with Christmas began with a Mexican legend about a poor girl who was too poor to bring a gift to the altar at Christmas. An angel told her to gather weeds from the side of the road to place on the altar. She did so, and the plants sprouted beautiful crimson leaves. In the 17th century, Franciscan friars in Mexico began using them for Christmas decorations. The leaf pattern is like a star, and so could symbolise the star of Bethlehem, while the red colour symbolises the blood of Christ.
9. Many people believe the plants are poisonous. They are mildly toxic. The sap can irritate some people's skin and eating the leaves can make you ill, but it wouldn't kill you. A child weighing 3.5 stone (50lb or 23kg) would have to eat 500 of the leaves before it did them any real harm.
10. Another myth is that poinsettias are indoor plants. They can be kept outside and can grow to a height of 4 metres (13ft), as long as they are protected from frost.

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A Very Variant Christmas

Last year, Jade and Gloria were embroiled in a bitter conflict to win back their throne and their ancestral home. This year, Queen Jade and Princess Gloria want to host the biggest and best Christmas party ever in their palace. They invite all their friends to come and bring guests. Not even the birth of Jade's heir just before Christmas will stop them.

The guest list includes most of Britain's complement of super-powered crime-fighters, their families and friends. What could possibly go wrong?

Gatecrashers, unexpected arrivals, exploding Christmas crackers and a kidnapping, for starters.

Far away in space, the Constellations, a cosmic peacekeeping force, have suffered a tragic loss. They need to recruit a new member to replace their dead colleague. The two top candidates are both at Jade and Gloria's party. The arrival of the recruitment delegation on Christmas Eve is a surprise for everyone; but their visit means one guest now faces a life-changing decision.

Meanwhile, an alliance of the enemies of various guests at the party has infiltrated the palace; they hide in the dungeon, plotting how best to get rid of the crime-fighters and the royal family once and for all. Problem is, they all have their own agendas and differences of opinion on how to achieve their aims.

Not to mention that this year, the ghosts who walk the corridors of the palace on Christmas Eve will be as surprised by the living as the living are by them.

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