Posted on 12/10/2022 6:36:50 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
How did a tropical plant become an unlikely symbol of the Christmas holiday? The history of the poinsettia begins with an old Mexican legend and, later, a major American business venture. Discover the legend of the poinsettia!
You say poin-set-ee-uh, I say poin-set-uh—but let’s call the whole thing off because the name of the ubiquitous holiday plant can be pronounced either way.
America’s Favorite Holiday Flower
Aside from the Christmas tree itself, no plant symbolizes Christmas quite like the poinsettia. More than 2 million of them will be sold this year, making it the largest potted flower crop grown in the United States!
There are over 100 varieties of poinsettias available in shades of red, pink, white, and yellow—solids, streaked, marbled, and multicolored. It makes it hard to pick just one!
Why Are Poinsettias the Christmas Flower?
Native to Mexico, the plant is called Flor de la Noche Buena (Flower of the Holy Night) due to its resemblance to the Star of Bethlehem.
In their native region of southern Mexico, poinsettias flower during the winter season. It’s a perennial shrub that was once considered a weed and will grow 10 to 15 feet tall in the wild. The Aztecs used the poinsettia bracts to make a reddish-purple dye for fabrics and used the sap medicinally to control fevers. The colored “flowers” are actually specialized leaves called bracts, while the true flowers are inconspicuous beads found in the center of the bracts.
According to Mexican lore, there was a young child, Pepita, who did not have a gift for the baby Jesus at a Christmas Eve service. She was very poor so all she could do was pick a bouquet of weeds to offer. The angels felt compassion for her plight. So, after Pepita set the flowers at the crèche of the nativity on Christmas Eve, the angels transformed the weeds into beautiful red flowers. This is why red and green are the colors of Christmas today.
The Namesake of the Poinsettia
Now, the reason blazing red (and now pink, white, orange, plus combinations of these colors) poinsettias are the Christmas flower in the United States is an accidental discovery by Joel Roberts Poinsett (1779–1851), an American statesman and the first U.S. ambassador to Mexico in 1828.
An amateur botanist, Poinsett saw the red flowers when visiting the Mexican town of Taxco in the state of Guerrero, shortly before he was thrown out of the country for trying to buy Texas from the Mexicans for a million dollars!
Poinsett was so impressed by the beauty of these plants that he sent cuttings back to his plantation near Georgetown, South Carolina, where they were propagated and called the “Mexican Fire Plant.” The plant was shared with botanical gardens and growers across the country.
Soon, the plants became popular across the U.S. and were renamed for Mr. Poinsett.
But the reason poinsettias became so popular is due to Paul Ecke and his inventiveness. Ecke, who lived in California, discovered a technique which caused seedlings to branch, resulting in a fuller plant. He began growing the plant in the tens of thousands for the Christmas season, when other flowers were scarce.
To promote poinsettias as a Christmas plant, he sent the crimson-leaved plants to TV studios across the country, including “The Tonight Show” and Bob Hope’s holiday specials.
The rest is history. Today, Poinsettias are not only the most popular Christmas plant, but the best-selling potted plant in the United States and Canada, contributing over $250 million to the U.S. economy at the retail level. California remains the top U.S. poinsettia-producing state.
For over 150 years, December 12 was considered National Poinsettia Day to honor the day of Poinsett’s death in 1851. In 2002, an Act of Congress made it official.
https://www.almanac.com/poinsettia-christmas-story
I start a new job this week. I’ve been unemployed for quite some time. I’ll have money to put into growing next year. Will finally be able to get that high tunnel built.
Maybe your readers would like to see the results of a rookie gardener. ;-):
https://freerepublic.com/focus/news/4114698/posts?page=64#64
When we travelled to Mexico many moons ago (Cancun region) we were amazed at the people sized pointsettia plants outside in peoples’ yard.
Congrats Pollard!
Great news!
LOL! :)
Pollard, Good deal and congrats on your new job!
Being Unemployed is miserable! (Will you get to use linux??)
They are an amazing and interesting plant, aren’t they?
Reminds me of my trip to Kauai; I was utterly fascinated by all of the Amaryllis growing along the road in the ditches, as abundant as the orange day lilies here at home.
The Christmas cactus is by far my favorite holiday plant. It can live for 100 years..literally. I’ll try to post pictures of one or 2 of mine.
Congratulations! 🍾
So it’s that time of year when we have to rake leaves one final time until next Spring. There’s so much to do at this time of year, that I don’t relish this chore, but it is what it is.
My MIL, who lives in Charlotte, has a few gorgeous poinsettias in her entryway and it’s always so beautiful at this time of year. I wish I could grow them here, but alas, they are just indoors here. I can barely keep them alive for the few weeks I have them, but I do love them.
My Christmas cactus has been in a darkened room since mid October, but still hasn’t started producing the beginning blossom nubs. I wonder if I did something wrong this year? It’s 4 or 5 years old now.
We also drove extensively in the rainforest of Puerto Rico. The “wild plants” are what we call house plants. I never saw so much purple wandering jew all along the roadside.
Drat! Posted the Florida garden update on last week’s thread. Bah!
Unfortunately, I am in the ER with dad this morning. Fell & broke his hip around 8:30. X-rays have confirmed. His 100th birthday is the 19th of this month - prayers up, please. Surgery probably tomorrow if he can get clearance (heart issues).
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