[poin-set-ee-uh, -set-uh] 
| a plant, Euphorbia (Poinsettia) pulcherrima, of the spurge family, native to Mexico and Central America, having variously lobed leaves and brilliant scarlet, pink, or white petallike bracts. |
| poin·set·ti·a (poin-sět'ē-ə, -sět'ə) n. A tropical American shrub (Euphorbia pulcherrima) that has showy, usually scarlet bracts beneath the small yellow flowerlike inflorescences. [New Latin, after Joel Roberts Poinsett (1779-1851), American diplomat.] |