Saturday, December 6, 2008

Pretty picture: Euphorbia pulcherrima 'Picasso'


I've probably done this variety, and similar varieties, of poinsettia an unkindness in the past by assuming it was one of those spray-painted ones. Spray-painting poinsettias is wrong. It's doublesuperwrong if it's spray paint of a color that poinsettias don't normally come in, and triplesuperplusnastywrong if there's glitter involved. I have no logical basis for saying this: it's just self-evidently bad.

But this, in fact, is just how this particular variety is. I've been looking for information on this type of variegation (what genes, if any, are involved? How does the plant decide which cells to pigment and which ones not to?), and all kinds of other variegation types, for some time now, but I haven't come up with much. It's possible that periclinal chimeras are the only ones I'm ever going to understand.

Still working on it, though. And there's always Barbara McClintock, if I get really desperate to explain some plant colors, though I'll have to understand it myself before I can even attempt to explain it to anybody else, and that may take a while.


5 comments:

Lance said...

Don't need logic, it just really is wrong. As bad as the glued on flowers on cactus.

Garden Wise Guy said...

Popped in for the first time after falling down a few rabbit holes in other people's blogs. I'm a friend of a few of the Rant ladies and I think I got here from Amy's.

I like your writing style, but my main props are for your disclaimer at the end of your page. Great little tidbit of writing. If spoken aloud with an English accent, there's be something slightly Pythonesque about it.

Keep up the good work. There aren't enough humorous garden writers out there. Let's keep them chuckling.

Garden Wise Guy said...

Forgot - I'd like to add you to my blogroll. Might as well spread the word.

Kylee Baumle said...

Well how about that? We both posted about poinsettias today! I love that one, too, and if I find one this season, I will buy it. I need to get to Some Big City to find one like that, though. We only have red, white, pink and those horrid things you see at Walmart.

singapore florist said...

adore the color, it really stands out for me. no wonder it named Picasso.