Euphorbiaceae
Poinsettia
Euphorbia pulcherrima
- Family
- Euphorbiaceae
- Genus
- Euphorbia
Pets and kids
- CatsMildly toxic
- DogsMildly toxic
- KidsMildly toxic
Why
Cats: Mildly toxic
Mildly toxic to cats. Toxic principle: irritant sap.
Signs: mouth irritation, stomach irritation, vomiting, drooling.
- Houseplants and Ornamentals Toxic to Animals - Toxicology - Merck Veterinary Manual Veterinary reference
Dogs: Mildly toxic
Mildly toxic to dogs. Toxic principle: irritant sap.
Signs: mouth irritation, stomach irritation, vomiting, drooling.
- Houseplants and Ornamentals Toxic to Animals - Toxicology - Merck Veterinary Manual Veterinary reference
Kids: Mildly toxic
Mildly toxic to young children. Toxic principle: irritant sap.
Signs: mouth irritation, stomach upset, nausea, vomiting, skin rash.
- Are poinsettias poisonous? Poison control
Is yours looking unwell? Scan your plant — free
Is Poinsettia safe for cats, dogs and kids?
Is Poinsettia safe for cats?
No. Our sources call Poinsettia mildly toxic to cats. Toxic principle: irritant sap. Signs: mouth irritation, stomach irritation, vomiting, drooling.
- Houseplants and Ornamentals Toxic to Animals - Toxicology - Merck Veterinary Manual Veterinary reference
Is Poinsettia safe for dogs?
No. Our sources call Poinsettia mildly toxic to dogs. Toxic principle: irritant sap. Signs: mouth irritation, stomach irritation, vomiting, drooling.
- Houseplants and Ornamentals Toxic to Animals - Toxicology - Merck Veterinary Manual Veterinary reference
Is Poinsettia safe for kids?
No. Our sources call Poinsettia mildly toxic to young children. Toxic principle: irritant sap. Signs: mouth irritation, stomach upset, nausea, vomiting, skin rash.
- Are poinsettias poisonous? Poison control
Ate some? Call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 (a fee may apply). For a child, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 (US). If they are struggling to breathe or collapse, call 911. Don't give anything by mouth unless a vet or poison expert tells you to.
See all cat-safe plants, dog-safe plants and child-safe plants.
Similar names and close relatives
A shared name doesn't mean a shared answer: check the exact plant.
- Christplant Euphorbia miliisame genusCats: Mildly toxic; Dogs: Mildly toxic; Kids: Mildly toxic
- African milk tree Euphorbia trigonasame genusCats: Not sure; Dogs: Not sure; Kids: Toxic
Common names
By language (77)
- Afrikaans
- Poinsettia
- Arabic
- بنت القنصل, البونسيتة, بونسيتة
- Armenian
- Պուանսետտիա
- arz
- بنت القنصل
- Asturian
- Flor de pascua
- Bangla
- লালপাতা
- Basque
- Pazko lorea
- Belarusian
- Найпрыгажэйшы малачай, Пуансетыя, Пуансэтыя
- Bhojpuri
- पॉइन्सेटिया
- Bulgarian
- Коледна звезда
- Cantonese
- 聖誕花
- Catalan
- Ponsètia, Flor de Nadal
- Central Kurdish
- پۆینسێتیا
- Chinese
- 一品紅, 一品红, 聖誕紅, 猩猩木, 老来娇, 圣诞花, 耶誕紅, 聖誕花
- Croatian
- Božićna zvijezda
- Czech
- Pryšec nádherný, Vánoční hvězda
- Danish
- Julestjerne
- dty
- लालुपत्या फूल
- Dutch
- Kerstster
- English
- Poinsettia, Christmas star
- Esperanto
- Belega eŭforbio, Eŭforbio belega
- Estonian
- Jõulutäht, Kaunis piimalill
- Filipino
- Paskwa, Paskwas, Poinsettias, Pointsettia
- Finnish
- Joulutähti, Tähtilatva
- French
- Poinsettia
- frr
- Julstäär
- Galician
- Flor do Nadal
- German
- Weihnachtsstern, Poinsettie
- Greek
- Αλεξανδρινό, Αλεξανδριανό, Ευφορβία η κομψότατη, Ποϊνσέτια, Ποϊνσέττια
- Hebrew
- חלבלוב הדור
- Hungarian
- Mikulásvirág
- hyw
- Փուէնսեթիա
- Icelandic
- Jólastjarna
- Iloko
- Paskuas
- Indonesian
- Kastuba, Pointsettia
- Irish
- Poinséitia
- Italian
- Poinsettia, Stella di natale
- Japanese
- ポインセチア, ショウジョウボク, 猩々木, 猩猩木
- Kannada
- ಪೊಯನ್ ಸೆಟಿಯಾ
- Kazakh
- Пуансеттия
- Korean
- 포인세티아
- lah
- پوئنسٹیا
- Latvian
- Krāšņā eiforbija, Puansētija, Ziemassvētku zvaigzne
- Lithuanian
- Puošniausioji karpažolė, Poinsetija
- Macedonian
- Божиќна ѕвезда
- mad
- Kaju nèmor
- Malagasy
- Poinsettia, Madagasikara
- Malay
- Poinsetia
- Malayalam
- പോയിൻസെറ്റിയ
- mul
- Poinsettia
- nah
- Cuetlaxōchitl, Cuetlaxochitl
- Nepali
- लालुपाते फूल
- Norwegian Bokmål
- Julestjerne
- Norwegian Nynorsk
- Julestjerne
- pam
- Depaskua
- Persian
- بنت قونسول
- Polish
- Wilczomlecz nadobny, Gwiazda betlejemska, Poinsecja, Poinsecja nadobna
- Portuguese
- Poinsétia, Bico-de-papagaio, Estrela-do-natal, Flor-do-natal
- Romanian
- Crăciuniță
- Russian
- Молочай красивейший, Молочай прекраснейший, Пуансетия, Пуансеттия, Рождественская звезда, Эуфорбия прекраснейшая
- sco
- Poinsettia
- se
- Juovlanásti
- Serbian
- Божићна звезда
- Serbian (Latin)
- Božićna zvezda
- Slovak
- Prýštec najkrajší, Mliečnik nádherný, Prýštec nádherný, Vianočná ruža
- Slovenian
- Božična zvezda, Božičnica
- smn
- Juovlâtäsni
- Spanish
- Flor de nochebuena, Flor de pascua, Cardenal, Estrella federal, Pascuero, Pastora, Pleuradenia coccinea, Poinsetia
- Swedish
- Julstjärna
- Tamil
- பொய்ன் செட்டியா
- Thai
- คริสต์มาส, พอยเซตเทีย
- Tongan
- Laveʻimoa
- Turkish
- Atatürk çiçeği, Atatürkçiçeği, Noel Yıldızı
- Ukrainian
- Молочай прекрасний, Різдвяна зірка
- Vietnamese
- Trạng nguyên, Hoa trạng nguyên, Nhất phẩm hồng
- Welsh
- Poinsetia
- wuu
- 一品红
Synonyms
- Euphorbia coccinea Raf.
- Euphorbia diversifolia Willd. ex Boiss.
- Euphorbia erythrophylla Bertol.
- Euphorbia fastuosa Sessé & Moc.
- Euphorbia lutea Alamán ex Boiss.
- Euphorbia poinsettiana Buist ex Giah.
- Euphorbia poinsettiana Buist ex Graham
- Euphorbia poinsettii Raf.
- Euphorbia pulcherrima f. lutea Standl.
- Pleuradena coccinea Raf.
- Poinsettia ignescens Van Geert
- Poinsettia mirabilis Van Geert
- Poinsettia pulcherrima (Willd. ex Klotzsch) Graham
- Poinsettia pulcherrima var. albida Maund
- Poinsettia pulcherrima var. major H.J.Veitch
- Poinsettia pulcherrima var. plena Hovey
- Poinsettia pulcherrima var. plenissima H.J.Veitch
- Poinsettia pulcherrima var. rosea-carminata Dombrain
- Poinsettia pulcherrima var. roseocarminata W.Bull
- Poinsettia variabilis Van Geert
Flowers
- In flower
- April to July, October to February (from 113 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)
Characteristics
- Growth habit
- Shrub, Tree
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- In the US and Canada
- Hawaii: introduced, Pacific Basin: introduced, Puerto Rico: introduced
Photos
FlowerPhoto: John Brew, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: John Brew, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: brettaugust, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Frank Vincentz, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Grete Pasch, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Frank Vincentz, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: deborah becot, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Pl@ntNet via GBIF 
Photo: Rafael Cano, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Dinesh Valke from Thane, India, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: donna cloutier, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Pl@ntNet via GBIF 
Photo: Dhrupad Das, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: donna cloutier, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Pl@ntNet via GBIF
More in Euphorbia
- ChristplantEuphorbia miliiEuphorbiaceae
- African milk treeEuphorbia trigonaEuphorbiaceae
- Madwoman's milkEuphorbia helioscopiaEuphorbiaceae
- Asthma weedEuphorbia hirtaEuphorbiaceae
- Indiantree spurgeEuphorbia tirucalliEuphorbiaceae
- Cypress spurgeEuphorbia cyparissiasEuphorbiaceae
- Wood spurgeEuphorbia amygdaloidesEuphorbiaceae
- Caper spurgeEuphorbia lathyrisEuphorbiaceae
- Petty spurgeEuphorbia peplusEuphorbiaceae
- Leafy spurgeEuphorbia esulaEuphorbiaceae
- Albanian spurgeEuphorbia characiasEuphorbiaceae
- Marsh spurgeEuphorbia palustrisEuphorbiaceae
Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0); common names from SimplePlant editors (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.