It’s National Poinsettia Day! What’s the plant’s real name?

(WHTM) – They’re the bestselling potted plants in both the United States and Canada. They’ve become a part of our Christmas traditions, even though they were cultivated by the Aztecs in Mexico long before Europeans and Christianity showed up. Their beautiful flowers aren’t flowers at all. And even though they’re from Mexico, we know them by the name of an American diplomat.

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We are talking about the Poinsettia. Or Euphorbia pulcherrima, if you want to use the scientific name. Or flor de nochebuena (Christmas Eve Flower), if you want to use the name in Mexico and Guatemala today. Or…

(Drum roll, please)

Cuetlaxochitl, the original Aztec name. (It’s pronounced kwet-la-sho-she.) The Aztecs used the sap of Cuetlaxochitl to treat fevers, and the bright red flowers to make dye.

Oh yes, about the “flowers”. They are actually brightly colored leaves called “bracts.”. The true flowers of the Cuetlaxochitl are small yellow structures hidden deep in the leaf bunches.

With the coming of Christianity in the 1500s, the Cuetlaxochitl became associated with Christmas; the star-shaped leaf patterns symbolized the Star of Bethlehem, and the red leaves represented the Crucifixion.

Guide to caring for traditional holiday plants

Then there’s the legend of the Christmas Eve flower, set in 16th-century Mexico. A girl named either Pepita or Maria (depending on the telling) was sad because she was too poor to provide a gift for the Nativity celebration. An angel (or her cousin, in an alternate version) tells her it doesn’t matter what the gift is, as long as it’s given with love. So the girl gathers some weeds along the road, and when she puts them on the altar, they bloom into beautiful red flowers.

OK, so where does the name Poinsettia come from? And what exactly does it have to do with Christmas?

Absolutely nothing.

In 1825 Joel Roberts Poinsett, politician and avid botanist, was appointed “Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary” (a de-facto ambassador) by President John Quincy Adams. While he was there, he collected plants, including the flor de nochebuena. When he returned home, he shared the plants with friends around Christmas, because that’s when the leaves would turn bright red. Before long nurseries were selling the plant, and around 1836 the plants were being called Poinsettias.

History of popular holiday plants

The credit for really popularizing the Poinsettia goes to the Ecke family of California. Albert Ecke started selling them from roadside stands; his son Paul Ecke Sr. found a way to grow poinsettias in pots. Paul Ecke Jr. took the lead in promoting and popularizing the plant nationwide – and beyond.

Today poinsettias are everywhere during the Christmas season, in an amazing variety of colors; red, white, orange, pink, purple, red, salmon, and yellow.

While on this topic, let’s bust a myth; Poinsettias are not toxic. In 1919 a child supposedly died after eating a leaf. But the story was never verified, and is apparently one of those Myths That Have a Life of Their Own. It should be noted, though, that people with latex allergies might react to the sap, which might also cause irritation and nausea in pets.)

The House of Representatives in 2002 created Poinsettia Day to honor both Joel Roberts Poinsett, who died on December 12, 1851, and Paul Ecke, the father of the poinsettia industry.

To download a Poinsettia info sheet, click here.

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