Poinsettia seedling to branch, resulting in a bushier plant. In the late 1980s, university researcher John Dole discovered the method previously known only to the Eckes and published it, allowing competitors to flourish, particularly those using low-cost labor in Latin America. The Ecke family's business, now led by Paul Ecke III, decided to stop producing plants in the U.S., but as of 2008, they still serve about 70 percent of the domestic market and 50 percent of the worldwide market. The poinsettia has been cultivated in Egypt since the 1860s, when it was brought from Mexico during the Egyptian campaign. It
2007 Poinsettia Bowl game matched the TCU Horned Frogs from the Mountain West Conference against Northern Illinois Huskies from the Mid-American Conference. TCU defeated Northern Illinois with a score of 37–7. In exchange for their participation in the 2007 game, Navy and Utah each received $750,000. Prior to the beginning of the 2007 college football season, Poinsettia Bowl organizers and Navy reached a single-season agreement with the United States Naval Academy for the Midshipmen to play in the 2007 Poinsettia Bowl if the team became bowl eligible by reaching at least six wins. The Midshipmen had previously won the inaugural 2005 Poinsettia Bowl