How a Central American plant became a symbol of Christmas

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Think “poinsettia” and you think “Christmas,” right? Well, think again. At the time of the first Christmas, the closest poinsettia to the little town of Bethlehem was 8,000 miles away, clinging to life in a rocky canyon in what’s now southwestern Mexico.

“The Aztec called the plant cuetlaxochitl (brilliant flower), and the Maya referred to it as k’alul wits (ember flower),” says Mark Hoddle of the University of California Riverside’s department of entomology. He became fascinated with the poinsettia while working on his doctoral dissertation in the 1990s, exploring ways to control whiteflies, a common scourge of the holiday plants.

There’s evidence the indigenous peoples of Central America appreciated the plant for its seasonal red leaves, he says, but mostly they saw medicinal value.

Franciscan missionaries arrived in Mexico in the 16th century and eventually began setting up elaborate manger scenes at Christmastime. Holly, Europe’s holiday flora of choice, was nowhere to be found for the dioramas, but when the missionaries saw the red and green colors of this local plant—that happened to burst into color every December—they knew they had the perfect stand-in.

By the time an American diplomat named Joel Poinsett arrived in Mexico in the 1820s, those bright leaves were a common sight. Yet despite all his exploits, Poinsett is remembered primarily as the amateur botanist who became fascinated with those red and green plants from Mexico. He sent some home to Charleston, where people began growing them in their gardens. Their notoriety grew under a variation of Poinsett’s name.

For the first 100 years or so after those first transplants arrived in Charleston, fragile poinsettias were nearly impossible to keep alive in a pot. They were sold primarily as cut flowers. “That all changed with these guys,” says Fred Clarke, keeper of what’s likely the world’s only poinsettia library. He’s leading me toward a large, translucent white shed tucked into a corner of the Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch, a bit north of San Diego, California. Clarke is the horticulturalist in charge of making sure those 80 million flowers grow and get to market, but it’s clear his passion plant grows inside this shed.

Source - https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/aztec-mexico-shrub-holiday-christmas-flower-poinsettia 

[Guillaume Hamon 6,981]

Love these so much!

They say Christmas more than Christmas tree to me! 

[weed 78,870]

I went to a greenhouse full of them recently 

[YouCanSitWithUs 394]

Aren't they poisonous to cats, though? 

[sarahb 17,185]

14 minutes ago, LuckyAlbum7Soon said:

Aren't they poisonous to cats, though? 

Feels like most plants are 

[YouCanSitWithUs 394]

Just now, sarahb said:

Feels like most plants are 

for real....I didn't know that!

[ScreamQueen007 415]

46 minutes ago, LuckyAlbum7Soon said:

Aren't they poisonous to cats, though? 

Yes and other small animals. 

[Killa 18,817]

Its the best plant to get at home. Its dead gorgeous and its the gift that keeps on giving. Extremely forgiving and just overall resistent. A true xmas miracle 

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On 12/24/2022 at 2:36 PM, Killa said:

Extremely forgiving and just overall resistent. A true xmas miracle 

In this regard poinsettia has the same meaning as the Christmas Tree (as the only type of tree that survives green in the winter). The Christmas Tree is really about hope for immortality.  Ancient Romans too used to plant pine trees on their important buildings because pine trees are always green, I find this inspiring.