answersLogoWhite

0

What are poinsettias adaptations?

Updated: 2/3/2022
User Avatar

Wiki User

7y ago

Best Answer

Female and male flowers, inconspicuous flower, milky sap and modified leaves are four (4) effective adaptations of poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima).

Specifically, poinsettias have both female and male flower parts on each plant. They therefore are not dependent upon artificial or natural pollinators. They are self-pollinating ... even though they do nothing to stop the pollinating efforts of the bees, birds and bugs drawn to the plant's nectar.

The female and male parts are protected by the dainty, inconspicuous nature of the plant's December bloom and by the plant's modified leaves. The plant's modified leaves are called bracts. True bracts immediately surround where the flower will emerge and always are distractingly bright red in color. Transitional bracts grow between the true bracts and the plant's regular, green leaves. They are distracting by the change that they undergo from green to red at the same time that the flower is developing and finally appears.

The plant's milky sap contains latex and can be irritating to humans and to wildlife. It discourages predators and also protects the plant's necessary activities of flowering, seeding and reproducing.

User Avatar

Sherwood Ritchie

Lvl 13
2y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: What are poinsettias adaptations?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp