Poinsettia Inspires Legends, Myths, Sales 12/9/04

EL DORADO, Kan. – Since ancient times, the poinsettia has aroused strong emotions and myths – mostly positive, but sometimes downright poisonous. Strangely, though, the fact that it’s admired worldwide now (and mistakenly feared) was largely a result of happenstance.

In nature, poinsettias are a perennial Central American flowering shrub that can grow 10 feet tall.

Poinsettias: A ‘Renaissance Man’ Was the Reason

MANHATTAN, Kan. – In a way, Americans honor a 19th century South Carolina diplomat and scientist every winter holiday season. They don’t know that they are – even though he remains famous in Texas history books. In fact, his name is on a park in South Carolina and a lake first surveyed by John Fremont in the (South) Dakota territories.

Joel R. Poinsett’s name still comes up every year, however, because he loved plants. And, he took home cuttings from a colorful, shrubby weed he found while serving as the first U.S. minister to Mexico in the 1820s.

The Charleston native was sickly and frail, but served under five presidents, was fluent in five languages, conversed with Napoleon and became a favorite of Czar Alexander I. He spearheaded moves to establish the Smithsonian Institution, expand West Point and foster democracy in South America (where his name led to a coined word that meant “high-handed and intrusive activity” – “meddling”).

Fourth U.S. President James Madison named Poinsett as his special agent to Argentina and Peru, where Poinsett incidentally helped rescue 11 U.S. whalers from privateers. Andrew Jackson named him minister to Mexico to buy land to add to Texas, and Martin Van Buren selected him as secretary of war.

Nonetheless, Poinsett also was the start of the world’s poinsettia industry when he took those shrub cuttings back to his greenhouse in 1826 (along with some red and yellow mimosas, the Mexican rose, and a hibiscus that could change from white to pink in one day). He, on the other hand, soon become obsessed with improving roads and finding farm crops that could grow in the “new world.”

But, as the shrubby plant became popular, historian and horticulturist William Prescott was asked to give it a nonscientific name. He had just published a book, “Conquest of Mexico,” which included a description of Poinsett’s discovery. So, Prescott decided to call the plant a poinsettia.

Oh, and the South Americans’ coined word for meddling? “Poinsettismo.”

-Source: Kansas State University
Research and Extension Horticulture

The early Aztecs in Mexico prized the plant, which they called the “cuetlaxochitle.” They saw it as a symbol of purity. Legend holds that the last of the Aztec kings, Montezuma, had the plants brought by cart caravans to what now is Mexico City, because its altitude was too high for poinsettias in the wild.

“On a more practical note, people in the region still were using the poinsettia’s milk sap as a fever medicine into the 16th century,” said Larry Crouse, horticulturist with Kansas State University Research and Extension. “The bracts – the red modified leaves that most people think are the flower – were still being used to make a crimson dye.”

When the Aztec empire fell to Spanish conquistadors, Christmas replaced the Indian celebrations. And, the Aztec symbol of purity became the subject of a still-surviving Mexican legend about poinsettias. The legend’s details vary, but Crouse recalled this version:

“On Christmas Eve long ago, a poor little Mexican girl – a chiquita – desperately wanted to give a wonderful gift to the Christ child during church. But, she couldn’t afford a present.

“Trying to cheer her up, her cousin told her that even the most humble gift is acceptable. So, the little girl gathered a bouquet of weeds from the roadside.

“As she entered the church and approached the altar, she forgot about the humbleness of her gift. In awe, she placed the bouquet at the Christ child’s feet. And then a miracle occurred! Her insignificant weeds burst into brilliant bloom.

“From then on, those weeds were called the flowers of the holy night (‘la flor de noche buena’ or Christmas Eve flower). And, each year since then, they always have bloomed at Christmastime.”

Years after the legend emerged, a less miraculous, but important “happenstance” occurred. German botanist William Wilenow was working in Mexico when the plant grew in through a crack in his greenhouse. He was amazed by its vivid colors. Being in the right place at the right time, he became the person who could assign its scientific name: “Euphorbia pulcherrima,” which roughly translates as “very beautiful” – plus shows the poinsettia’s relationship to other plants, some of which are poisonous.

“But the popular name for this very beautiful plant honors Joel R. Poinsett, who served as the first U.S. minister to Mexico in the early 1800s,” Crouse said. “He took cuttings from a number of exotic plants back home to South Carolina. After retiring, he also spent much of his time in exchanging seeds, cuttings and fruits with acquaintances from around the world. He’s mainly remembered today, however, because he happened to ‘find’ the poinsettia.” (See sidebar.)

In 1905, poinsettias finally became a cultivated plant in southern California when Albert Ecke started producing them for the outdoor and then the indoor markets. The Ecke family still is the nation’s leading producer, Crouse said, although commercial nurseries grow poinsettias in all 50 states. Today, about 90 percent of the world’s cultivated poinsettias are U.S. exports.

The myth that poinsettias are poisonous got started in 1919 when an Army officer’s 2-year-old child died of poisoning at a base in Hawaii. Doctors there assumed the cause was a poinsettia leaf because the child happened to have been bothering one of the plants.

“Rarely, someone will have an allergic reaction from being exposed to poinsettia sap, but there has never been a documented case of poinsettia poisoning,” Crouse said. “Study after study has proven that no part of the plant is toxic. People at Ecke’s farm will eat leaves for customers to prove the point – although they say those leaves taste really bad. Still, a 1995 poll commissioned by the Society of American Florists found 66 percent of those surveyed believe poinsettias are toxic. Amazing.”

The horticulturist said new poinsettia varieties are continually being developed, despite this mistaken, but toxic reputation. And, poinsettias have become the top-selling U.S. potted plant.

“In addition to the original red, now you can find pink, white, marbled and even yellow varieties. The latest cultivar to catch my eye is a blood-red selection called Cortez,” Crouse said. “You can also buy poinsettias in different shapes such as standard-branched, tree form, hanging basket, centerpiece and single-stem miniature. And every one is a ‘beautiful flower.’”

K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.