Here’s another set of strange bedfellows from my garden. I would consider this an unlikely combination anywhere but South Florida. The parrots are Parrotflowers (Heliconia psittacorum) and the poinsettias are a native Floridian Euphorbia called Florida Poinsettia (Euphorbia cyathophora). I like the little bits of red on the foliage accenting the colors of the flowers.
I have tried growing the usual Christmas poinsettia in the garden and failed. The Florida version is a wildflower that appears from time to time. Having read up on it a bit I should probably pull them out. It seems they are one of those perverse plants that is hard to grow from seed if you want it – but a prolific reseeder if you don’t. If I don’t act soon the next thing could be a mowed poinsettia lawn for the holidays. Not a festive look.
A closer view:
The Parrotflowers are orange and red and yellow. The orange ones are Heliconia psittacorum “Choconiana”; the reds H. psittacorum “Lady Di”. These are very tropical and did not appreciate the 30 degree temperatures in January and are just recovering. The flowers are smaller than usual for some reason. Yellow spikes are from the Thyrallis (Galphimia gracilis) shrub.
The Florida Poinsettia foliage. Another common name for this is Fire on the Mountain. Where they found the mountains in Florida we will never know.
That is all from sweltering South Florida.
Many thanks to Cathy at http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting this weekly meme. Follow the link to see more vases from gardens around the world.
Happy Gardening!!
The Shrub Queen 
Very interesting info about your poinsettias.
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Thanks, Rosie
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Just love those flowers!!
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Very festive, a good arrangement for a party! All you need is salsa and chips. 😉
I imagine the euphorbia would be a problem for those sensitive to its sap. Are you?
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Thanks, Eliza. I had some salsa and chips with lunch. I had forgotten about the sap until I cut the stems, yep. sensitive.
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Ooh, sorry about that. Are you okay? How did you treat it?
Similarly, Aconitum gives me a rash, so I give it wide berth.
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Yes just had to wash it off. Aconitum is scarier stuff!
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This is a great composition, and a great way of showing to us who will probably never see that poinsettia in person, just how interesting it is. The shape of the sepal? is quite intriguing.: it is almost as if someone had taken a pair of scissors to it, or maybe it is an adaptation that signals to nibbling insects that it has already been eaten, and thus they move on to something else. Then of course they probably have the sap of the other euphorbias which isn’t that good, is it. Thanks you again for showing such interesting plants.
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Thanks, Noelle, they have the euphorbia white sap. I had forgotten about it until I had a few cuttings burning my hand!
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I much prefer your native poinsettia, Amy, as the ‘Christmas’ ones are a pet hate of mine and I always dread being given one as a gift… 😁As Noelle says, you have put it and the other contents to good use with another exceedingly stylish vase – we just don’t have the blooms in the UK for this kind of stylishness!
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Thanks, Cathy. I think the tropical flowers have a graphic quality not found elsewhere. The red poinsettias are just a bit much!?
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That’s a good point about tropical flowers, Amelia. I am guessing that some people like the red poinsettias – or do the growers just try to make out it’s what people should be buying at Christmas? 😉
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A lot of people like red poinsettias and consider them a holiday requirement.
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Each to their own…😉
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I am with Cathy, I loathe Xmas poincettias but your Florida native is very pretty and thanks to your last post I recognised it, along with the Galphimia gracilis. I love the arrangement and your heliconas always make me jealous.
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Thanks, Liz. It had not really crossed my mind that I also dislike the typical poinsettias, crass? not sure. They are sometimes spray painted with glitter here.
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Great hot colors. A tried to grow native poinsettias, but it was from the drier Hill Country and didn’t like the humid climate.
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Did your native poinsettias look like these? I have never seen any til these appeared.
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It has been a long time since I had them, but I think they are very similar.
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Those are intriguing flowers in name and bloom. Lovely together in a vase too!
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Thank you.
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Another flashy tropical mix! I love that Heliconia.
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You know, all of those Heliconia psittacorum are pretty. Even the brighter yellow and red sort that I am not at all fond of are pretty. (I do not remember its name, but it is the cultivar that looks like it is from Ronald McDonald’s garden.) I really want to see mine bloom, but they probably will not do so until next year.
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These surprised me. They moved to the shadiest spot and reestablished and flowered. I had to crawl under a shrub to see them.
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That is sort of amusing, because I needed to crawl under the Philodendron selloum ‘Xanadu’ in Brent’s garden to remove the rhizomes of those that are here now.
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I do like that poinsettia Amelia. Such a dainty flower with interesting leaves and less gaudy than the ones we get here at Christmas. (I always buy one in the hope it will stay alive for me beyond New Year!) Maybe a new lawn alternative? 😉 It’s a lovely arrangement. Shiny and exotic. Your garden must look amazing at this time of year! 😃
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Thanks, Cathy. The garden is flourishing with everything good and bad!
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