Where is the poinsettia plant originate

Its history, particularly how it ended up in the United States and associated with Christmas, is interesting to say the least. Native to Mexico, the poinsettia was used by the Aztecs as a source for purple dye and medicine for fevers, according to the American Phytopathological Society.

It was introduced to the United States in , when the first American ambassador to Mexico, Joel Roberts Poinsett, noticed the fiery red plants flourishing in Taxco. Being an avid horticulturist, Poinsett sent some of the plants home to his greenhouses in Greenville, South Carolina. He was able to propagate them and distributed them among friends and botanical gardens. One of the friends who received some of the first poinsettias was Colonel Robert Carr, who owned a nursery.

He introduced the plant to the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society for cultivation and trade in , according to Dr. Leonard Perry at the University of Vermont. There is a quaint legend about how the poinsettia became associated with Christmas. With National Poinsettia Day taking place on December 12 and poinsettias often considered the official plant of Christmas, this month is the perfect time to learn more about the history of poinsettias.

First, you may be wondering: Where did the poinsettia originate from? The poinsettia made its way to the United States when Joel Roberts Poinsett for whom the plant is named after brought them back to his home state of South Carolina in The showy colored parts of poinsettias that most people think of as the flowers are actually colored bracts modified leaves.

Poinsettias have also been called the lobster flower and the flame-leaf flower, due to the red color. Poinsett was a botanist, physician and the first United States Ambassador to Mexico. In Mexico the poinsettia is a perennial shrub that will grow feet tall. There are more than varieties of poinsettias available today. Poinsettias come in colors like the traditional red, white, pink, burgundy, marbled and speckled. What's in a Name? In Nahuatl , the language of the Aztecs, the Poinsettia was called Cuitlaxochitl from cuitlatl , for residue, and xochitl , for flower , meaning "flower that grows in residues or soil.

In Spain the Poinsettia has a different holiday attribution. It is known there as "Flor de Pascua", meaning "Easter flower". Poinsettias received their name in the United States in honor of Joel Roberts Poinsett, who introduced the plant into the country in He sent cuttings of the plant he had discovered in Southern Mexico to his home in Charleston, South Carolina.

The word Poinsettia is traditionally capitalized because it is named after a person. Anatomy of a Poinsettia The showy colored parts of Poinsettias that most people think of as the flowers are actually colored bracts modified leaves.

The yellow flowers, or cyathia, are in the center of the colorful bracts. She felt embarrassed because she could only give this small present to Jesus. As she walked through the chapel to the altar, she remembered what Pedro had said. She began to feel better, knelt down and put the bouquet at the bottom of the nativity scene. Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst into bright red flowers, and everyone who saw them were sure they had seen a miracle. The shape of the poinsettia flower and leaves are sometimes thought as a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem which led the Wise Men to Jesus.

The red colored leaves symbolize the blood of Christ. The white leaves represent his purity.