December 4, 2024
PUBLISHER’S CORNER
Everything Poinsettias
By Eloise Graham
I recently ran across a cute little book about poinsettias titled Poinsettias Myth & Legend ~ History & Botanical Fact. I thought I would share some of the information with you. There are quotes
in this little book, and I will share some of them. The first one is from Calvin Coolidge, “Christmas is not a time or season, but a state of mind.”
What are the origins of this plant? The botanists of the 19th century dismissed this plant as a lowly weed. However, one avid amateur botanist from South Carolina happened upon a plant in the countryside of Mexico. Joel Poinsett was his name. The year was 1828, and he just happened to be the first United States Ambassador to Mexico. Joel was enchanted by the alluring blooms, took some cuttings and shipped them back to his greenhouse in 
South Carolina.
Today, the horticultural wonders are big business. Each year 150+ million carefully cultivated potted poinsettias, in every size, shape and color imaginable are sold in more than 50 countries. What’s more, their distinctive profile graces a plethora of holiday merchandise from quilts, napkins, dinnerware, neckties and many other objects.
How does one pronounce the name of this flower? Is it poyn-SEHT-ee-uh or poyn-SEHT-uh? Well, the dictionary says both are correct, so you choose. According to Robert Frost “All the fun’s in how you say a thing.” However, the East Coast pronunciation, poin-SEHT-er, is incorrect. Some of the many nicknames for this flower include: flores de la noche buena (Flowers of the Holy Night), fire flower, cuetlaxochitle (the Aztec name), flame leaf, lobster flower, and ratweed.
Poinsettia is the common name. Plant names often reflect the color, form, leaf structure or region. William Presott, historian, was asked to rename this plant. The botanical name, Euphorbia Pulcherrima, just didn’t have a nice ring to it. Prescott had recently published Conquest of Mexico which included facts surrounding Joel Poinsett’s
discovery of the plant. To honor his horticultural and diplomatic achievements, Prescott christened the holiday beauty “poinsettia.”
Red symbolizes danger, war, fire, power, love and is the best-selling color of poinsettias. Philosophers and poets have created legends to explain why the plants look like they do. One such legend says that the leaves turned the bright red color of blood in sympathy for a young woman who, separated from her one true love on Christmas Eve, died of a broken heart. Another legend states that the Star of Bethlehem shot through the sky on the night Jesus was born and turned the leaves the color of fire’s flames in its wake.
Are poinsettias poisonous? Rumors started in the early 1900s that this flower was poisonous. Fearful mothers’ began to shun this Christmas plant. In 1919, an unfounded rumor spread that a two-year-old died after eating just one leaf. Finally, in the 1970s, the Society of American Florists asked Ohio State University to conduct a series of scientific tests to uncover the truth. Poinsettias are not poisonous.
