La Calaca

Did you know that Poinsettias are native to Mexico? Well, you do now! Here’s a great article about the history of the gorgeous Christmas-red flower, also known as “Noche Buena” (although I like “Mexican fire plant” much more). 

HISTORY OF THE POINSETTIA
by Bill Petro on December 12, 2011

I studied one summer in Cuernavaca, a little town south of Mexico City. There is a story told there in Mexico that long ago the people flocked to church on Christmas Eve because they loved to fill the Christ child’s manger with flowers. A little boy named Jose was too poor to buy any flowers. The story continues that an angel appeared to him and told him to pick some weeds from the side of the road. Following the instructions, Jose brought the weeds to the church. When he put them in the manger, they changed into beautiful scarlet flowers, which the Mexicans call the “Flor de la Noche Buena,” the Flower of Christmas Eve.

These striking blooms caught the attention of Dr. Joel Roberts Poinsett, America’s first minister (ambassador) to Mexico between 1825 and 1829. Dr. Poinsett brought the plant to America and raised it in his greenhouses in Charleston, South Carolina. It was named in his honor in 1836. The Latin name is Euphorbia pulcherrima, literally “the most beautiful Euphorbia.” You may know Dr. Poinsett as the founder of the National Institute for the Promotion of Science and the Useful Arts, predecessor of the Smithsonian Institution.

The plant was initially known in the United States as “painted leaf” or “Mexican fire plant” until it eventually was named poinsetta pulcherrima, or “poinsettia,” in honor of of its “discoverer” Dr. Poinsett. There are also white, pink and dappled poinsettias. By the early 1900′s, they were sold as potted plants in California. Many poinsettias are still raised in the state, especially for use as Christmas gifts and decorations. The city of Ventura, California is even known as the Poinsettia City.

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com