Alaskans Get Colorado Christmas Trees And Mexican Poinsettias

During the film festival, the creator of The Words I Love (Honorable Mention in the short docs category) stayed with us for several days.  Thanachart Siripatrachai - Benz - for short and I went for a few outings and during one we stopped at Bell's Nursery and found, to our surprise, Christmas trees from Colorado.

Down on the bottom - it says Poncha Springs, CO.

Needless to say we were surprised to learn Alaskans buy Colorado trees.  

Here's Benz taking pictures.















I don't think these particular poinsettias are from Mexico, but I did some checking and they come originally from Mexico.








From American Phytopathological Society:  

The poinsettia, Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd., is a member of the family Euphorbiaceae. The genus Euphorbia contains some 700 to 1,000 species. It is characterized by a single female flower, without petals and usually without sepals, surrounded by individual male flowers all enclosed in a cup-shaped structure called a cyathium. The showy red, pink, white, or bicolored portion of the plant, popularly referred to as the flower, consists of modified leaves or bracts (Fig. 1).

The poinsettia is a native plant of Mexico and originated in a rather limited region near present day Taxco. Long before the arrival of Europeans, the Aztecs of central Mexico cultivated the plant and called it Cuetlaxochitl. Because of its brilliant color, the poinsettia was a symbol of purity to the Indians. It was highly prized by both King Netzahualcoyotl and Montezuma, but because of the high altitude climate, the plant could not be grown in their capital, now known as Mexico City. The Indians used poinsettia bracts to make a reddish-purple dye. They also made a medicine for fever from the plant’s latex.  .  . [emphasis added - and there's a lot more about the history of this plant at the APS link.]

Yes, I needed to look it up too.  Here's what it says:

What Is Phytopathology or Plant Pathology?

The Study of Plant Disease

Plant pathology is an interdisciplinary science that includes knowledge of botany, microbiology, crop science, soil science, ecology, genetics, biochemistry, molecular biology, and physiology. Most plant pathologists have master's and doctoral degrees and are employed by colleges and universities, state and federal government agencies, industrial firms, international institutes, and as private practitioners.

In any case, let me take this opportunity to wish all my readers who celebrate Christmas, a very merry Christmas!