Birth flower for December 4
White poinsettia
Meaning: celebration
The white petals of a poinsettia are really bracts; the true flowers are the small yellow-green cups in the middle. It is a short-day plant that only colors up when nights grow long, so growers shade it in autumn. The English name honors Joel Poinsett, the 19th-century US minister to Mexico who brought the plant home and promoted it.