Ceratopetalum gummiferum, the New South Wales Christmas Bush, is a tall shrub popular in cultivation due to its flowers that turn bright red-pink at around Christmas

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

 time. The petal

Petal

Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They often are brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. Together, all of the petals of a flower are called a corolla. Petals are usually accompanied by another set of special leaves called sepals lying...

s are actually small and white - it is the sepals that enlarge to about 12mm after the flower sets fruit and starts to dry out.

The specific name gummiferum alludes to the large amounts of gum

Gum

-Natural gums:* Natural gum, any of a number of naturally occurring resinous materials in vegetative species* Gum anima* Gum arabic, used as food additive, adhesive et al.* Cassia gum* Dammar gum* Gellan gum* Guar gum* Kauri gum* Locust bean gum* Spruce gum...

 that is discharged from cut bark.

It is similar to the Sakura

Sakura

A cherry blossom is the flower of any of several trees of genus Prunus, particularly the Japanese Cherry, Prunus serrulata, which is sometimes called sakura after the Japanese . Many of the varieties that have been cultivated for ornamental use do not produce fruit...

 tree, a tree that grows beautiful pinkish-red blossoms. Its flowers fall off the tree around February, and then die. The wilted flower can stay there, for many years, turning into a dead-pink-white colour. They also have a small point that doesn't affect the body but give them a sharp prick.

To achieve a bright red colour, the tree needs to be situated in a place where it receives much sunlight.