From Unnamed Patented Poinsettia to ‘Flaming Sphere’ to ‘Winter Rose’™

Summary: California’s Ecke Ranch transforms a sport of a double bract variety from unnamed patented poinsettia to ‘Flaming Sphere’ to ‘Winter Rose’™.

Poinsettia ‘Winter Rose'™, Saturday, Dec. 1, 2007, 14:31:29: miheco, CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Flickr

The Ecke Ranch of Encinitas, southern California, transformed a sport of Henrietta Ecke, an unpatented double bract variety, from unnamed patented poinsettia to ‘Flaming Sphere’ to ‘Winter Rose’™ over the course of 48 years.

On July 6, 1950, Paul Ecke Jr. (Dec. 14, 1925-May 13, 2002) filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for a patent for an unnamed poinsettia plant. On Dec. 11, 1951, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office assigned plant patent number 1,052 to the inventor’s unnamed poinsettia.

The sport’s origin and discovery took place at the Ecke Ranch in Encinitas. Vegetative propagation via cuttings also occurred at the ranch. Vegetative propagation over more than three years revealed the stability and true reproduction of the sport’s desirable characteristics in several thousand plants. Paul Ecke Jr.’s unnamed patented poinsettia distinguished itself with profuse, ruffly, tortuous, vivid bracts; extremely curled foliar main veins; malformed inflorescences; bract and leaf retention longevity.

Cuttings for propagation may be planted between May and September. November and December are targeted for optimum maturity. The unnamed patented poinsettia retains bracts and foliage into the new year, for two more months. Then the unnamed patented poinsettia enters dormancy for about three months.

The patent application describes the new variety of Euphorbia poinsettia as a persistent perennial with a slow but vigorous growth habit. Proper handling assures easy cultivation.

At maturity, Paul Ecke Jr.’s unnamed patented poinsettia reaches an approximate height of 6 to 8 feet (1.82 to 2.43 meters). Spread, or width, approximates 4 to 5 feet (1.21 to 1.52 meters).

Flower-bearing stalks termed peduncles (Latin: pedunculus, “little foot”) branching from the main stem are stiff and strong. Their color is Scheele’s green, which is a yellowish green. Peduncles have an average length of 4 feet (1.21 meters).

Knoblike spurs or spikes, also termed pedicels (Latin: pediculus, “little foot”), grow at upper ends of peduncles. Pedicels put forth numerous, blood-red bracts.

Sinuously shaped bracts overlap to form densely compacted heads. Bracts in the clustered head’s central portion turn and twist less than circumferential bracts.

Bracts have ruffled edges. Ruffling is more pronounced in bracts at the head’s circumference and less pronounced in bracts in the head’s center.

Leaves extend outward from peduncles in a helical, or spiral, arrangement. Petioles (Latin: petiolus, “little foot, stalk”), which attach leaf blades to peduncles, are unusually thick. Petioles have an arcuate (Latin: arcuatus, “bow-like, arched”) shape. Their color is spinach green.

Leaves also have spinach green coloring. Their shape is irregularly ovate, or egg-shaped.

Paul Ecke Jr.’s unnamed patent poinsettia has pinnate venation. Parallel with each other, small veins branch from the central main vein, which is known as the midrib.

During the leaf’s early maturity, the midrib maintains a substantially straight alignment from base to tip. But with the development of optimum color in the bracts, midribs increasingly curve toward their leaves’ undersides. By the time that bracts begin dropping from their headed cluster, each midrib’s extreme spiral curving draws leaf lobes on opposite sides of the midvein upward. Paul Ecke Jr. describes the effect as “resembling a pair of butter-fly wings.”

Ecke’s unnamed patented poinsettia does not develop normal or substantial inflorescence while bracts are developing and growing. When bracts enter a state of decline, each knoblike pedicel terminally puts forth a malformed perianth, which, as the non-reproductive, outer floral part, normally comprises petals and sepals. Ecke’s poinsettia does not develop the parts that commonly characterize poinsettia varieties. For example, the small, greenish cuplike structure known as a cyathium is missing.

In 1962, about a decade after approval of Paul Ecke Jr.’s patent application, Ecke Ranch’s chief hybridizer, Hungarian-born Franz Fruehwirth began experimenting with the non-traditional-looking poinsettia. The floppy poinsettia now was known as Ecke’s Flaming Sphere.

In 1998, after 36 years of attentive tweaking, Flaming Sphere debuted for the November to December holiday market as 'Winter Rose'™. It was a sellout success. On Dec. 13, 1998, Steve Hershfeld, owner of Hillcrest Nursery in Millers, central Maryland, explained the novelty poinsettia’s appeal to customers in a Baltimore Sun special article by Beth Smith:

“They really flipped over this plant. They loved its dark red color, its double flower image and its uniqueness.”

Since Ecke Ranch’s successful 1998 debut of the first incurvately bracted and leafed poinsettia cultivar, Ecke Ranch has expanded Eckespoint® Winter Rose™ ‘Dark Red’ into a curly family. A fuller palette is now available, with colors including Marble, Deep Pink, Pink and White.

The takeaway for the winsome sport’s transformation from unnamed patented poinsettia to ‘Flaming Sphere’ to ‘Winter Rose’™ is Euphorbia pulcherrima’s phenomenal amenability to tweaking of distinctive, unusual traits, especially as exemplified by Ecke Ranch’s revolutionary introduction of the first variety with incurved bracts and foliage.

6, 1950, as application number 03/172,291, with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); United States Plant Patent No. US PP1,052; Date of Patent Dec. 11, 1951; illustration depicts various stages of leaves; substantially ovate form (center); partly arcuate midrib, with leaf rolling under toward blade’s lower surface (left); increasingly curved midrib, with leaf rolling up toward blade’s upper surface (right): Paul Ecke Jr., Public Domain, via U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Poinsettia ‘Winter Rose™,’ Saturday, Dec. 1, 2007, 14:31:29: miheco, CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/miheco/2078321017/

face view of unnamed patented poinsettia, as illustrated in Paul Ecke Jr.’s patent application, filed Thursday, July 6, 1950, as application number 03/172,291, with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); United States Plant Patent No. US PP1,052; Date of Patent Dec. 11, 1951; illustration depicts various stages of leaves; substantially ovate form (center); partly arcuate midrib, with leaf rolling under toward blade’s lower surface (left); increasingly curved midrib, with leaf rolling up toward blade’s upper surface (right): Paul Ecke Jr., Public Domain, via U.S. Patent and Trademark Office @ http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=PP001052;
via Plant Patents Image Database, Digital Collections @ University of Maryland Libraries @ https://digital.lib.umd.edu/plantpatents/id/PP01052

For further information:

Baldwin, Debra Lee. “Winter Wonder.” San Diego Union-Tribune. Dec. 13, 1998.
Available @ http://www.franzfruehwirth.com/winterwonder.html

Benson, D. Michael; Janet L. Hall; Gary W. Moorman; Margery L. Daughtrey; Ann R. Chase; Kurt H. Lamour. “Poinsettia: The Christmas Flower.” APS (American Phytopathological Society) > Publications > APS Features. DOI: 10.1094/APSnetFeature-2001-1201
Available @ http://www.apsnet.org/publications/apsnetfeatures/pages/poinsettiaflower.aspx

Dougherty, Elizabeth. “Patently Poinsettia.” Inventors Eye. Dec. 2013.
Available @ https://www.uspto.gov/custom-page/inventors-eye-patently-poinsettia

“Euphorbia pulcherrima (Winter Rose® Series).” Learn2Grow > Plant Search.
Available @ http://www.learn2grow.com/plants/euphorbia-pulcherrima-winter-rose/

Hendry, Erica R. “Popular Potted Plant Captured Christmas.” Smithsonian magazine > Arts & Culture. Dec. 12, 2013.
Available @ http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/how-americas-most-popular-potted-plant-captured-christmas-180949299/

International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants. “Document TGP/14: Glossary of Technical, Botanical and Statistical Terms Used in UPOV Documents. Section 2: Botanical Terms: Subsection 3: Color: (2): Color Names for the RHS Colour Chart.” UPOV (Union Internationale Pour la Protection des Obtentions Végétales). Dec. 9, 2006.
Available @ http://www.upov.int/edocs/mdocs/upov/en/tc_edc/2007/tgp_14_draft_1_section_2_3_2.pdf

Marriner, Derdriu. “American Green Poinsettia Gardens for America’s Toothed Spurge.” Earth and Space News. Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/12/american-green-poinsettia-gardens-for.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “American Wild Poinsettia Gardens for America’s Other Poinsettia.” Earth and Space News. Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/12/american-wild-poinsettia-gardens-for.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Poinsettia ‘3-91’ With Blushed Red Bracts Is Sold as Monet Twilight™.” Earth and Space News. Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016.
Available @ http://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/12/poinsettia-3-91-with-blushed-red-bracts.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Poinsettia ‘Ice Punch’ Has Cherry Red and Pink Bicolored Flower Bracts.” Earth and Space News. Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/12/poinsettia-ice-punch-has-cherry-red-and.html

“Poinsettia Named Pink Curly.” United States Patent and Trademark Office > Program in Word (PIW). Nov. 16, 1982.
Available @ http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=PP004950

“Poinsettia Named Red Curly.” United States Patent and Trademark Office > Program in Word (PIW). Nov. 16, 1982.
Available @ http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=PP004952

“Poinsettia Plant.” United States Patent and Trademark Office > Program in Word (PIW). Dec. 11, 1951.
Available @ http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=PP001052

Smith, Beth. “Holidays in Bloom: The Popularity of Poinsettias as a Holiday Flower Has Been Boosted by the Development of New Varieties.” The Baltimore Sun > Collections > Plant. Dec. 13, 1998.
Available @ http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1998-12-13/features/1998347193_1_poinsettias-paul-ecke-ranch-winter-rose

Williams, Jack. “Christmas Companions to Poinsettias.” L&GR (Lawn & Garden Retailer) magazine. February 2007.
Available @ http://lgrmag.com/article/christmas-companions-poinsettias/

Williams, Jack. “Winter Rose Early Red.” GPN (Greenhouse Product News) magazine. February 2004.
Available @ http://gpnmag.com/wp-content/uploads/WinterRose1.pdf

“Winter Rose™ Family.” Ecke Ranch > Poinsettias > Poinsettia Crop Information.
Available @ http://www.ecke.com/poinsettias/cropinformation/winterrose/

Kangaroo Island Western Gray Kangaroo Natural History Illustrations

Summary: Kangaroo Island western gray kangaroo natural history illustrations honor dark-bodied, dark ear-tipped grazers off the mainland state of South Australia.

Kangaroo Island western gray kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus) graze in open woodlands; Kelly Hill Conservation Park, Karatta, southwestern Kangaroo Island, southeastern South Australia, south central Australia; Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012: Paul Asman and Jill Lenoble (Paul and Jill), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons

Kangaroo Island western gray kangaroo natural history illustrations address the distribution ranges and physical aspects that assemble the Commonwealth of Australia's western gray kangaroos into one island subspecies and one mainland subspecies.

Kangaroo Island western gray kangaroos bear the common names Kangaroo Island and Kangaroo Island western grey kangaroos as endemic marsupials, from the Greek μάρσιππος (mársippos, "pouch"). Rising sea levels 10,000 years ago cut what mainland Aboriginal tribes call Karta ("Island of the Dead") off from the current south-central state of South Australia. Kangaroo Island western gray kanaroos dwell only on the 93-mile (149.67-kilometer) by 35- to 56-mile (56.33- to 90.12-kilometer) island 8.4 miles (13.52 kilometers) from Fleurieu Peninsula.

Kangaroo Island western gray kangaroo natural history illustrations examine endemic marsupials whose specimens Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest (March 6, 1784-June 4, 1838) examined and explicated in 1817.

The Captain Matthew Flinders (March 1, 1774-July 19, 1854) and Commander Nicolas Thomas Baudin (Feb. 17, 1754-Sep. 16, 1803) expeditions furnished respectively dead and live specimens.

The Flinders specimen from 1802 and Baudin populations from 1803 for Paris's Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes ("Zoo of the Botanical Garden") got one scientific name. Kangaroo Island western gray kangaroos hold nominate ("first-named") status even though they have lesser distribution ranges and lower population totals than south-central to southwestern mainland counterparts. Scientific nomenclature sometimes identifies two continental subspecies, as Macropus fuliginosus melanops and Macropus fuliginosus ocydromus, for the Macropus fuliginosus ("big-footed sooty [kangaroo]") western gray kangaroo species.

Kangaroo Island western gray kangaroo natural history illustrations join Australia's "black-faced" (melanops) and "swift runner" (ocydromus) western gray kangaroo natural history illustrations as Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus.

Kangaroo Island kangaroo subspecies members of the Macropodidae kangaroo, pademelon, quokka, tree-kangaroo, wallaby and wallaroo family know breeding and birthing seasons similar to their continental counterparts.

Lands alongside the Backstairs Passage and Investigator Strait look summery December through February, autumnal March through May, wintry June through August and vernal September through November. Western gray kangaroo subspecies on insular and mainland sides of the more easterly Backstairs Passage and more westerly Investigator Strait mate potentially year-round but practically summers. Western gray kangaroo subspecies, unlike other kangaroo species' simultaneously developed egg and birthed and nursing joeys, net one egg, one newborn, one joey at a time.

Kangaroo Island western gray kangaroo natural history illustrations sometimes offer life cycle observations even though continental natural history illustrations occur more for black-faced than swift-running subspecies.

Scientific classification proves dynamic in that mammalogists prefer the melanops subspecies for south-central to southwestern Australian western gray kangaroos but preserve fuliginosus for Kangaroo Island endemics.

Kangaroo Island western gray kangaroos queue up darker, thicker heads, less pale undersides, shorter ears, limbs and tails and sootier brown bodies than their mainland equivalents. They range through bushlands, croplands, forests, heathlands, pasturelands, scrublands, shrublands and woodlands for acacia (wattle), allocasuarina (she-oak) and xanthorrhoea (grass-tree) leaves, forbs (low-growing herbs) and grasses. Flinders Chase National Park in Flinders Chase, Gosse and Karatta serves as a westernmost, year-round spot for seeing all Kangaroo Island western gray kangaroo life stages.

Kangaroo Island western gray kangaroo natural history illustrations treasure an island-only subspecies whose populations the International Union for Conservation of Nature tag as of least concern.

Kangaroo Island western gray kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus) family; Flinders Chase National Park, southwestern Kangaroo Island, southeastern South Australia, south central Australia; Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013, 16:21: DiverDave, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Kangaroo Island western gray kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus) graze in open woodlands; Kelly Hill Conservation Park, Karatta, southwestern Kangaroo Island, southeastern South Australia, south central Australia; Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012: Paul Asman and Jill Lenoble (Paul and Jill), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/pauljill/8275647191/;
Paul Asman and Jill Lenoble, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kangaroo_Island_kangaroos.jpg

Kangaroo Island western gray kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus) family; Flinders Chase National Park, southwestern Kangaroo Island, southeastern South Australia, south central Australia; Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013, 16:21: DiverDave, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Macropus_fuliginosus_fuliginosus-1.JPG

For further information:

Desm. (Desmarest, Anselme Gaëtan). 1817. "Second espèce. -- Kanguroo brun enfumé, Kangurus fuliginosus." Nouveau Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle, Appliquée aux Arts, à l'Agriculture, à l'Économie Rurale et Domestique, à la Médecine, etc. Tome XVII: 35-36, Plate XXII. Paris, France: Chez Deterville, MDCCCXVII.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/18054378

Gould, J. (John). 25 January 1842. "On Some New Species of Australian Mammals: Macropus melanops." Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, part X (1842), no. LXII: 10-11. London, England: Printed for The Society by R. and J.E. Taylor, 1842.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/30679772

Gould, John. September 1842. "Description of Two New Species of Kangaroos From Western Australia: Macropus ocydromus." The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, vol. X: 1-2. London, England: R. and J.E. Taylor.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2324037

Gould, John. 1863. "Macropus Fuliginosus. Sooty Kangaroo." The Mammals of Australia, vol. II: Plate 5, opposite page 8. London, England: Printed for The Author by Taylor and Francis.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/49740653
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/stream/mammalsAustrali2Goul#page/3/mode/1up

Gould, John. 1863. "Macropus Ocydromus. West-Australian Great Kangaroo." The Mammals of Australia, vol. II: pages 6-7, Plates 3-4. London, England: Printed for The Author by Taylor and Francis.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/49740661
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/stream/mammalsAustrali2Goul#page/5/mode/1up

Iredale, T. (Tom); and E. (Ellis) Le G. Troughton. 1934. "A Check-List of the Mammals Recorded From Australia." Australian Museum Memoir, vol. 6 (May 4, 1934): 1-122. Sydney, Australia: The Trustees of the Australian Museum.
Available @ https://australianmuseum.net.au/uploads/journals/17234/516_complete.pdf
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/47102257

Lundie-Jenkins, Geoff. "Wallabies and Kangaroos." In: Michael Hutchins, Devra G. Kleiman, Valerius Geist and Melissa C. McDade, eds. Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Second edition. Volume 13, Mammals II: 83-103. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group, 2003.

Marriner, Derdriu. 25 November 2016. "Australia's Antelope Kangaroo Natural History Illustrations." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/11/australias-tropical-antelope-kangaroo.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 2 December 2016. "Australia's Eastern Gray Kangaroo Natural History Illustrations." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/12/australias-eastern-gray-kangaroo.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 9 December 2016. "Tasmanian Eastern Gray Forester Natural History Illustrations." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/12/tasmanian-eastern-gray-forester.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 16 December 2016. "Australia's Western Gray Kangaroo Natural History Illustrations." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/12/australias-western-gray-kangaroo.html

December Winter Solstice Opens Northern Hemisphere’s Shortest Season

Summary: The 2016 December winter solstice opens the Northern Hemisphere’s shortest season, shortest day and longest night.

solstices and equinoxes as astronomical season placeholders: NASA Science, Public Domain, via NASA Space Place

The December winter solstice, which happens Wednesday, Dec. 21, at 10:44 Coordinated Universal Time (5:44 a.m. Eastern Standard Time), opens the Northern Hemisphere’s shortest season.

The Earth’s north-to-south axial tilt away or toward the sun determines Earth’s seasons. The current tilt of Earth’s polar, or rotational, axis angles at 23.43711 degrees to its perpendicular orbital axis. Earth’s rotational axis always tilts toward the same points in the sky, known as celestial poles, during the Blue Planet’s rotation around the sun. The northern end of the imaginary axis, at Earth’s North Pole, points toward the northern celestial pole. The southern end of the imaginary axis, at the South Pole, points toward the southern celestial pole.

The December solstice marks the axial tilt that favors the Southern Hemisphere with more hours of sunlight than the Northern Hemisphere. The North Pole tilts away from the sun while the South Pole leans toward the sun. A small number of hours of sunlight spells winter for the Northern Hemisphere. A great number of hours of sunlight ushers in summer for the Southern Hemisphere.

Six months later, the June solstice pairs with the December solstice to flip the hemispheres’ seasons. The June solstice favors the Northern Hemisphere with more hours of sunlight than the Southern Hemisphere. The North Pole now leans toward the sun while the South Pole tilts away from the sun. A great number of sunlit hours spells summer for the Northern Hemisphere. A small number of sunlit hours announces winter in the Southern Hemisphere.

A pair of equinoxes combines with the pair of solstices to distinguish Earth’s annual seasons. The March and September equinoxes (Latin: aequus, “equal” + nox, “night”) mark the placement of the subsolar point, where the sun’s rays arrive perpendicularly to the Earth’s surface, exactly over the equator. The solar terminator, which separates Earth’s illuminated, or day, and darkened, or night, sides, aligns perpendicularly with the equator. The Northern and Southern Hemispheres are equally illuminated on Earth’s side facing the sun. The two hemispheres are equally darkened on the side turned away from the sun.

The March equinox is also known as the spring, or vernal, equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and as the autumnal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere. Six months later, the September equinox flips the hemispheres’ seasons. The September equinox announces spring in the Southern Hemisphere and autumn in the Northern Hemisphere.

These four seasonal placeholders endure for varying lengths. Astronomical winter straddles the end of one year and the beginning of the next year. EarthSky lead writer Bruce McClure notes the length of the northern astronomical winter and the southern astronomical summer, running from December solstice to March equinox, as 88.99 days.

The Northern Hemisphere’s astronomical spring, which is the Southern Hemisphere’s astronomical autumn, begins with the March equinox and ends with the June solstice. The timeframe encompasses 92.76 days.

The June solstice signals another astronomical seasonal shift. The northern summer and the southern winter log 93.65 days until the September equinox.

The September equinox announces astronomical autumn in the Northern Hemisphere and astronomical spring in the Southern Hemisphere. The new seasons mark 89.84 days until the December solstice.

The Earth’s orbital closeness to the sun, known as perihelion (Ancient Greek περί, perí, “near” + ἥλιος, hḗlios, “sun”), explains the shortness of astronomical winter. Earth travels faster in proximity to the sun and slower in remoteness from the sun, known as aphelion (Ancient Greek ἀπό, apó, “from” + ἥλιος, hḗlios, “sun”). The December solstice currently precedes perihelion by two weeks. Perihelion in 2017 occurs Wednesday, Jan. 4.

Bruce McClure credits Belgian astronomical algorithm expert Jean Meeus (born Dec. 12, 1928) with identifying the timeframe of 1246 to 6429 for astronomical winter’s status as the Northern Hemisphere’s shortest season. Perihelion coincided with the December solstice in 1246 and will coincide with the March equinox in 6430.

The takeaway for the December winter solstice as opener of the Northern Hemisphere’s shortest season is that Earth’s axial tilt causes astronomical seasons and Earth’s perihelion determines duration of astronomical seasons.

Earth’s remoteness (aphelion) and proximity (perihelion) in orbiting the sun: Alexander Novati, Public Domain, via NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory SciJinks

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

solstices and equinoxes as astronomical season placeholders: NASA Science, Public Domain, via NASA Space Place @ http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/seasons/en

Earth’s remoteness (aphelion) and proximity (perihelion) in orbiting the sun: Alexander Novati, Public Domain, via NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory SciJinks @ http://scijinks.jpl.nasa.gov/earths-seasons/

For further information:

“10 Things About the December Solstice.” Time And Date > Sun & Moon.
Available @ http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/ten-things-december-solstice.html

Byrd, Deborah. “Everything You Need to Know: December Solstice 2016.” EarthSky > Astronomy Essentials > Earth. Dec. 15, 2016.
Available @ http://earthsky.org/?p=2951

“December Solstice 2016.” Time And Date > Time Zones > World Clock > Event Time Announcer.
Available @ https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?iso=20161221T1044&msg=December%20Solstice%202016

EarthSky. “Why Aren’t the Earliest Sunsets on the Shortest Day?” EarthSky > Earth. Dec. 7, 2014.
Available @ http://earthsky.org/earth/winter-solstice-and-late-sunrise

Erickson, Kristen. “What Causes the Seasons?” NASA Space Place > Seasons.
Available @ http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/seasons/en/

Espenak, Fred. “Astronomical Events in 2016.” EarthSky > Astronomy Essentials > Science Wire > Space. May 3, 2016.
Available @ http://earthsky.org/space/astronomical-phenomena-events-for-this-year

Espenak, Fred. “Earth at Perihelion and Aphelion: 2001 to 2100 Greenwich Mean Time.” Astro Pixels > Ephemeris.
Available @ http://www.astropixels.com/ephemeris/perap2001.html

Espenak, Fred. “Solstices and Equinoxes: 2001 to 2100 Greenwich Mean Time.” Astro Pixels > Ephemeris.
Available @ http://www.astropixels.com/ephemeris/soleq2001.html

Geggel, Laura. “Why Spring Gets About 30 Seconds Shorter Every Year.” Live Science > Planet Earth. March 19, 2015.
Available @ http://www.livescience.com/50194-spring-equinox-shorter-season.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "December Solstice Always Occurs at the Same Instant Everywhere on Earth." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/11/december-solstice-always-occurs-at-same.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "December Solstice Opens Astronomical Winter With 2016’s Longest Night." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/12/december-solstice-opens-astronomical.html

McClure, Bruce. “December Solstice Brings Longest Days for Whole Earth.” EarthSky > Tonight. Dec. 21, 2016.
Available @ http://earthsky.org/tonight/longest-days-of-year-accompany-the-december-solstice

McClure, Bruce. “N. Hemisphere? Watch for Earliest Sunsets.” EarthSky Tonight > Dec. 7, 2016.
Available @ http://earthsky.org/tonight/earliest-sunset-today-but-not-shortest-day

McClure, Bruce. “Shortest Season Starts at December Solstice.” EarthSky > Tonight. Dec. 16, 2016.
Available @ http://earthsky.org/tonight/years-shortest-season-starts-with-december-solstice

McClure, Bruce. “Sun Reaches Southernmost Point at Solstice.” EarthSky > Tonight. Dec. 20, 2016.
Available @ http://earthsky.org/tonight/southernmost-sun-brings-december-solstice

Meeus, Jean. Astronomical Tables of the Sun, Moon, and Planets. Third edition. Richmond VA: Willmann-Bell, Inc., 2015.

“Perihelion, Aphelion and the Solstices.” Time And Date > Sun & Moon.
Available @ http://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/perihelion-aphelion-solstice.html

“Seasons: Meteorological and Astronomical.” Time And Date > Calendar.
Available @ http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/aboutseasons.html

“Shortest Day of the Year in the Northern Hemisphere.” Time And Date > Sun & Moon.
Available @ http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/december-solstice.html

“Solstices and Equinoxes for New York (1750 -- 1799).” Time And Date > Sun & Moon.
Available @ http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/seasons.html?year=1750&n=179

Stoller-Conrad, Jessica. “What’s a Solstice?” NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory SciJinks (Science Hijinks). Last updated Sept. 22, 2016.
Available @ http://scijinks.jpl.nasa.gov/solstice/

Webb, Brian. “UTC Conversion Table.” Space Archive Info > Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
Available @ http://www.spacearchive.info/utc.htm

“What Is Midnight Sun or Polar Day?” Time And Date > Sun & Moon.
Available @ https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/midnight-sun.html

“What Is Polar Night?” Time And Date > Sun & Moon.
Available @ https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/polar-night.html

“Winter Solstice -- Shortest Day of the Year.” Time And Date > Sun & Moon.
Available @ http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/winter-solstice.html

Hänsel und Gretel Is the Dec. 24, 2016, Metropolitan Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: The Dec. 24, 2016, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is Hänsel und Gretel, a three-act, fairy tale opera by Engelbert Humperdinck.

Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel airs as the Dec. 24, 2016, Saturday matinee broadcast during the 2016-2017 Met Opera season: Red River Radio @rrrpublicradio, via Twitter Dec. 22, 2016

Hänsel und Gretel (“Hansel and Gretel”), a three-act, fairy tale opera by German composer Engelbert Humperdinck (Sept. 1, 1854-Sept. 27, 1921), is the Dec. 24, 2016, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast.

The composer’s sister, German librettist and writer Adelheid Witte (Sept. 4, 1858-Aug. 9, 1916), wrote the original German libretto. The literary source is Hänsel und Gretel, a fairy tale of German origin published in 1812 by the Brothers Grimm. Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm (Jan. 4, 1785-Sept. 20, 1863) and his brother, Wilhelm Carl Grimm (Feb. 24, 1786-Dec. 16, 1859), specialized in collecting and publishing German folk tales.

The premiere took place Dec. 23, 1893. The venue was Weimarer Hoftheater (“Weimar Court Theatre”) in Weimar, Thuringia, central Germany. German late Romantic and early modern composer Richard Georg Strauss (June 11, 1864-Sept. 8, 1949) conducted the opera’s premiere.

The Saturday matinee broadcast reprises the opera’s Jan. 1, 2008, performance at the Metropolitan Opera. The performance is sung in English, using the translation by British librettist and opera director David Pountney (born Sept. 10, 1947).

The archival broadcast of the Met English-language holiday presentation begins at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (6 p.m. Coordinated Universal Time).

Vladimir Mikhailovich Jurowski conducts the Saturday matinee broadcast of Hänsel und Gretel. His birthplace is Moscow, northwestern Russia. The Russian conductor debuted in the Metropolitan Opera’s 1999 production of Rigoletto by Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901).

Alice Coote appears as Hänsel. She was born in Frodsham, Cheshire, North West England. The British lyric mezzo-soprano debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2006 as Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791).

Christine Schäfer appears as Gretel. Her birthplace is Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, west central Germany. The German soprano debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2001 in the title role of Lulu by Austrian composer Alban Maria Johannes Berg (Feb. 9, 1885-Dec. 24, 1935).

Rosalind Plowright appears as Gertrud, the children’s mother. She was born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, East Midlands of England. The English mezzo-soprano debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2003 as Kostelnička in Jenůfa by Czech composer Leoš Janáček (July 3, 1854-Aug. 12, 1928).

Alan Held appears as Peter, the children’s father. His birthplace is Washburn, Illinois. The American bass-baritone debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 1989 as Mr. Redburn in Billy Budd by Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (Nov. 22, 1913-Dec. 4, 1976).

Philip Langridge (Dec. 16, 1939-March 5, 2010) appears as the Witch, whose baking of children into gingerbread cookies is forever foiled by Gretel. Philip Langridge was born in Hawkhurst, Kent, South East England. The English operatic tenor debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 1985 as Ferrando in Così Fan Tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791).

Sasha Cooke appears the Sandman, whose sand grains induce a sleep in Hänsel and Gretel that is guarded by 14 angels. Her birthplace is Riverside, southern California. The American mezzo-soprano debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2007 as the Second Priestess in Iphigénie en Tauride by Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck (July 2, 1714-Nov. 15, 1787).

Lisette Oropesa appears as the Dew Fairy, who awakens Hänsel and Gretel from their dreamy sleep by sprinkling dew on them. She was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Cuban-American operatic soprano debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2006 as a Cretan woman in Mozart’s Idomeneo.

Operabase, an online database, places Engelbert Humperdinck at number 15 in a ranking of 1,281 most popular composers for the five seasons from 2011/2012 to 2015/16. Hänsel und Gretel places at 13 in the list of 2,658 most popular operas.

The Metropolitan Opera’s 2016 Repertory Report gives performance statistics through Oct. 31. Hänsel und Gretel holds place 32, with 271 performances, for the period from first Met performance, Nov. 25, 1905, to last performance, Jan. 8, 2015. The Metropolitan Opera’s 2016-2017 season falls outside the report’s parameters.

Hänsel and Gretel claims the honor of being the Metropolitan Opera’s first live radio broadcast. The broadcast took place on Christmas Day, 1931.

The takeaway for Hänsel und Gretel as the Dec. 24, 2016, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is the fairy tale’s happy ending, with the triumph of the siblings’ goodness over the Witch’s nefarious plans, with the reunion of Hänsel and Gretel with their parents and with the transformation of the gingerbread children back to their human forms.

The 2016-2017 Met Opera season's performances of Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel revive Richard Jones' staging, which debuted in the 2007-2008 season at Met Opera: Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Dec. 15, 2016

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel airs as the Dec. 24, 2016, Saturday matinee broadcast during the 2016-2017 Met Opera season: Red River Radio @rrrpublicradio, via Twitter Dec. 22, 2016, @ https://twitter.com/rrrpublicradio/status/812021591576088576

The 2016-2017 Met Opera season's performances of Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel revive Richard Jones' staging, which debuted in the 2007-2008 season at Met Opera: Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Dec. 15, 2016, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532.229232.20807115532/10158020965600533/

For further information:

Attiyeh, Bob. “Sasha Cooke.” Linn Records > Artist.
Available @ http://www.linnrecords.com/artist-sasha-cook.aspx

Austin, Katy S. “The Met in HD, Hansel und Gretel, 2008.” Bachtrack > Reviews. Dec. 1, 2013.
Available @ https://bachtrack.com/review-dec-2013-met-hansel-und-gretel-2008

"Composers: Composers Ranked by the Number of Performances of Their Operas Over the Five Seasons 2011/2012 to 2015/16." Operabase > Opera Statistics.
Available @ http://operabase.com/top.cgi?lang=en

"Debut: Alan Held." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 296050 Billy Budd {33} Metropolitan Opera House: 04/17/1989.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=296050

“Debut: Philip Langridge.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 279140 Così Fan Tutte {100} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/05/1985.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=279140

“Debuts: Christine Schäfer, Andrew Gangestad, Robin Blitch Wiper, David Brimmer.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 333606 Lulu {26} Metropolitan Opera House: 04/09/2001.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=333606

“Debuts: Lisette Oropesa, Jeffrey Francis, Simon O’Neill.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 351557 Idomeneo {60} Metropolitan Opera House: 09/28/2006.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=351557

“Debuts: Louis Langrée, Sasha Cooke, Michele Losier, Jacqueline Antaramian, Mark Capri.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 352202 New Production Iphigénie en Tauride {6} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/27/2007.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=352202

Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "Today is #NationalCupcakeDay! #TBT to this moment of sweet temptation in the 2008 production of Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel starring Aleksandra Kurzak and Christine Rice in the title roles. Photo by Cory Weaver/Metropolitan Opera." Facebook. Dec. 15, 2016.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532.229232.20807115532/10158020965600533/

Millington, Barry. “Philip Langridge Obituary.” The guardian > Arts > Classical > Music > Opera. March 7, 2010.
Available @ https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/mar/07/philip-langridge-obituary

“Performances Statistics Through October 31, 2016.” MetOpera Database > The Metropolitan Opera Archives > Repertory Report.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/Database%20Opera%20Statistics.xml

Red River Radio @rrrpublicradio. "The Metropolitan Opera: Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel Airs Saturday, December 24, at 12 noon." Twitter. Dec. 22, 2016.
Available @ https://twitter.com/rrrpublicradio/status/812021591576088576

Tobin, Silja. “The Met Celebrates the Holidays with an Archival Broadcast of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel.” MetOpera Datase > The Metropolitan Opera Archives > Radio > Metropolitan Opera Radio Broadcast Alert.
Available @ http://www.metopera.org/metoperafiles/radio/2016-17%20Production/Hansel%20and%20Gretel%2016-17/hanselandgretelpressalert.doc

WarnerClassics. “MET Opera on DVD - Hansel and Gretel - Christine Schafer." YouTube. Sept. 18, 2008.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1elUvZauBk

Poinsettia ‘3-91’ With Blushed Red Bracts Is Sold as Monet Twilight™

Summary: Ecke poinsettia ‘3-91,’ cultivated by Ecke Ranch’s chief hybridizer, Franz Fruehwirth, has blushed red bracts and is sold as Monet Twilight™.

side view of poinsettia ‘3-91’ in images included in Franz Fruehwirth’s patent application, filed Friday, May 26, 1995, as application number 08/452278, with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); United States Plant Patent No. US PP9,602; Date of Patent July 9, 1996; color scans via Plant Patents Image Database, Digital Collections @ University of Maryland Libraries

Ecke poinsettia ‘3-91,’ a Euphorbia pulcherrima cultivar by Franz Fruehwirth, Ecke Ranch’s chief hybridizer, has blushed red bracts and is sold as Monet Twilight™.

On May 26, 1995, Franz Fruehwirth filed a patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for poinsettia ‘3-91.’ James R. Feyrer was the application’s primary examiner. Fruehwirth named Paul Ecke Ranch Inc. in Encinitas, southern California as assignee. On July 9, 1996, The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office assigned plant patent number 9,602 to poinsettia ‘3-91.’

Poinsettia ‘3-91’ has its origins as a natural blushed red bracted sport of poinsettia ‘135.’ Its parent plant is a bicolored red and white bracted Euphorbia pulcherrima cultivar patented May 22, 1990, as plant patent number 7,234, by Franz Fruehwirth.

Fruehwirth noticed the sport’s unusual, blushed red bracts and self-branching trait. Its bract color differs distinctively from that of its parent plant. Poinsettia ‘135’ has variously shaped and sized red splotches scattered randomly against its bracts’ predominantly white background. The bracts of poinsettia ‘3-91’ reveal a more uniform blush over their surface as compared with the parent plant’s random splotches.

Vegetative propagation via stem cuttings was tested at the Ecke Ranch. The testing revealed that the blushing cultivar’s distinctive traits held true over successive generations.

The patent application for poinsettia ‘3-91’ describes flowering plants of the new poinsettia cultivar that were grown as three single stem plants per pot. The pot measured a diameter of 14 centimeters (5.5 inches) and a height of 11 centimeters (4.33 inches).

Poinsettia ‘3-91’ attains medium height as a shrub. The three unpinched plants attained an overall height of 40 centimeters (15.748 inches). Overall spread, or width, reached 44 centimeters (17.32 inches).

Each single-stemmed plant displayed an upright, vigorous growth habit. Self-branching side shoots also were present.

Axillary branches do not require pinching for developing and terminating in a flower. Fruehwirth, however, suggests pinching as a strategy for achieving fast, uniform development rates of all axillary branches.

Medium-sized leaves have typical blade lengths of 13 to 14 centimeters (5.11 to 5.51 inches). Blade widths typically measure about 9 centimeters (3.54 inches).

Ovate-shaped leaves have mostly entire margins, or edges. Occasionally one indentation lobes each side of the leaf blade.

Upper surfaces of developed leaves have nearly the greenness of dark green (The Royal Horticultural Society colour chart color 147A). Lower surfaces have nearly the greenness of brown green (RHS 147B).

Fruehwirth notes that the combination of continuous long night conditions and night temperatures at around 16 to 18 degrees Celsius (degrees Fahrenheit) triggers flowering in about 10 weeks. Poinsettia ‘3-91’ matured fully Dec. 4 in the Ecke greenhouse in Encinitas.

Fully-blooming ‘3-91’ poinsettias usually exhibit 18 to 21 cuplike flower heads known as cyathia (Ancient Greek: κύαθος. kyathos, "drinking cup"). Green-colored cyathia have red fringes at the distal, or outer, end.

Protruding from each cyathium’s side is a yellow nectar cup. The inventor finds the presence and abundance of nectar exudate, or secretion.

Each cyathium measures a length of about 7 millimeters (0.275 inches). The cyathium has a width of about 6 millimeters (0.236 inches).

Bracts, which are modified leaves, subtend, or underlie, poinsettia cyathia. About 15 to 18 variously-sized bracts generally subtend each cyathium.

Primary bracts have ovate shapes. One distinctive indention lobes either side of primary bracts.

Secondary bracts have elliptical shapes. Termed as entire, their margins are smooth and untoothed.

Primary bracts have large blades typically measuring lengths of 18 to 21 centimeters (7.08 to 8.26 inches) and widths of 12 to 14 centimeters (4.72 to 5.51 inches).

Secondary bracts have smaller, variously sized blades.

Upper surfaces of bracts have a blushed red appearance. A layer of creamy white (RHS 155B to 155D) cells underlie the surface layer.

Surface cells contain varying amounts of red pigment (nearly RHS 46B). The red pigment’s greater intensity in secondary bracts accounts for the overall solid redness of these smaller, inner bracts. The red pigment’s greater dilution in primary bracts accounts for the lightly blushed redness of these large, outer bracts.

Lower surfaces of bracts are creamy white (nearly RHS 155D). The surface layer of underside cells has a red tint (nearly RHS 46B).

Franz Fruehwirth reports in his patent application that poinsettia ‘3-91’ exhibits good bract and foliage retention. Even after confinement in shipping containers, poinsettia ‘3-91’ exhibits post-production resistance to epinasty, a condition of downward bending of leaves and other plant parts. Even low light intensities in a consumer’s home should not discourage retention.

Ecke Ranch's Poinsettia '3-91' sells commercially as ‘Monet Twilight’™: PattyHankins @PattyHankins, via Twitter Dec. 19, 2015

Poinsettia ‘3-91’ is sold commercially under the trade name of ‘Monet Twilight’™. As assignee, Ecke Ranch notes the excellent amenability of ‘Monet Twilight’™ to growth in 4- to 10-inch (10.16- to 25.4-centimeter) containers and as trees. As a vigorous cultivar, ‘Monet Twilight’™ responds well to plant growth regulators (PGRs) for controlling height and strengthening stems. Calcium sprays promote stem strength and, when applied at first color, prevent bract edge burn.

Throughout production maintenance of even soil moisture is essential. Also the amount of salt in the soil needs to be monitored. High EC (electrical conductivity), which indicates high salinity, is damaging to bracts.

As a later bloomer, ‘Monet Twilight’™ requires warm temperatures during production. Otherwise flowering may be delayed.

Ecke Ranch indicates a nine-week response time. For example, flower initiation around Sept. 25 targets Dec. 5 timing.

The takeaway for commercial availability of blushed red bracted poinsettia ‘3-91’ as ‘Monet Twilight’™ is that the poinsettia with blushed red bracts strikingly decorates container and in-ground niches.

top view of poinsettia ‘3-91’ in images included in Franz Fruehwirth’s patent application, filed Friday, May 26, 1995, as application number 08/452278, with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); United States Plant Patent No. US PP9,602; Date of Patent July 9, 1996; color scans via Plant Patents Image Database, Digital Collections @ University of Maryland Libraries

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

side view of poinsettia ‘3-91’ in images included in Franz Fruehwirth’s patent application, filed Friday, May 26, 1995, as application number 08/452278, with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); United States Plant Patent No. US PP9,602; Date of Patent July 9, 1996; color scans via Plant Patents Image Database, Digital Collections @ University of Maryland Libraries, @ https://digital.lib.umd.edu/plantpatents/id/PP09602; (former URL @ http://www.lib.umd.edu/plantpatents/binaries/09600/pp09602.pdf)

Ecke Ranch's Poinsettia '3-91' sells commercially as ‘Monet Twilight’™: PattyHankins @PattyHankins. via Twitter Dec. 19, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/PattyHankins/status/678152059716157441

top view of poinsettia ‘3-91’ in images included in Franz Fruehwirth’s patent application, filed Friday, May 26, 1995, as application number 08/452278, with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); United States Plant Patent No. US PP9,602; Date of Patent July 9, 1996; color scans via Plant Patents Image Database, Digital Collections @ University of Maryland Libraries, @ https://digital.lib.umd.edu/plantpatents/id/PP09602; (former URL @ http://www.lib.umd.edu/plantpatents/binaries/09600/pp09602.pdf)

For further information:

International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants. “Document TGP/14: Glossary of Technical, Botanical and Statistical Terms Used in UPOV Documents. Section 2: Botanical Terms: Subsection 3: Color: (2): Color Names for the RHS Colour Chart.” UPOV (Union Internationale Pour la Protection des Obtentions Végétales). Dec. 9, 2006.
Available @ http://www.upov.int/edocs/mdocs/upov/en/tc_edc/2007/tgp_14_draft_1_section_2_3_2.pdf

Marriner, Derdriu. "American Green Poinsettia Gardens for America's Toothed Spurge." Earth and Space News. Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/12/american-green-poinsettia-gardens-for.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "American Wild Poinsettia Gardens for America's Other Poinsettia." Earth and Space News. Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/12/american-wild-poinsettia-gardens-for.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Poinsettia ‘Ice Punch’ Has Cherry Red and Pink Bicolored Flower Bracts.” Earth and Space News. Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/12/poinsettia-ice-punch-has-cherry-red-and.html

“Monet Twilight™ -- Tips and Basic Culture.” Ecke Ranch™ > Poinsettias > Poinsettia Crop Information > Monet Twilight™ > Tips and Basic Culture.
Available @ http://www.ecke.com/poinsettias/cropinformation/monettwilight/

PattyHankins @PattyHankins. “Monet Twilight Poinsettia.” Twitter. Dec. 19, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/PattyHankins/status/678152059716157441

“Poinsettia Plant ‘3-91.’” United States Patent and Trademark Office > Program in Word (PIW). July 9, 1996.
Available @ http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=PP009602

“Poinsettia Plant ‘4-91.’” United States Patent and Trademark Office > Program in Word (PIW). May 17, 1994.
Available @ http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=PP008733

“Poinsettia Plant '135.’” United States Patent and Trademark Office > Program in Word (PIW). May 22, 1990.
Available @ http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=PP007234

“PP09602 -- Poinsettia Plant ‘3-91.’” University of Maryland Libraries > Plant Patents Image Database. Scan Date: April 16, 2015, at 18:26:28.
Available @ http://www.lib.umd.edu/plantpatents/id/601

Williams, Jack. “Christmas Companions to Poinsettias.” L&GR (Lawn & Garden Retailer) magazineFebruary 2007.
Available @ http://lgrmag.com/article/christmas-companions-poinsettias/