You’re most likely familiar with most of the traditional Christmas decorations and where they are said to have come from. Christmas trees, nutcracker dolls and Christmas pyramids from Germany. Mistletoe from the ancient Romans and Greeks. Lionel trans and Christmas villages from the U.S. in the early 1900s. But one popular and traditional present-day Christmas tradition, poinsettias, actually came from the Palmetto State and traces its roots back to the early 1800s.
The poinsettia flower.
Poinsettias were introduced to the United States by Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first appointed U.S. ambassador to Mexico. In 1825 while visiting Taxco, Mexico he became enchanted with the red blooms and sent some plants to his home in Greenville, South Carolina.
According to the University of Illinois College of Agricultural Science, Poinsett was already a skilled botanist, and he propagated the plants and began distributing the plants to friends and various botanical gardens.
Within a few years, plants eventually reached Robert Buist, a nurseryman, who is believed to be the first person to sell the plant in the United States. In 1833, the plant was given the common name poinsettia, the name-sake of Joel Poinsett.
Further back, according to the College, The ancient Aztec Indians of Mexico cultivated and regarded this plant as a symbol of purity and while we know the plant as an indoor plant, in Mexico poinsettias grow to be large woody shrubs, often reaching 10 feet tall.
The modern poinsettia only slightly resembles the tall, leggy, red plant that grew wild throughout Central America, and it comes after many years of engineering and breeding.
The poinsettia industry in the U.S. was developed in the 1920’s. Albert and Paul Ecke began field growing poinsettias in the Hollywood, California area. Today the Paul Ecke Ranch located in Encinitas, California is still a major producer of poinsettia mother plants used for cuttings by commercial growers.
Congress has even given the poinsettia its due recognition by declaring December 12th as National Poinsettia Day. This day honors Poinsett who died on December 12th, 1851.
In today’s world, no holiday scene would be complete without a poinsettia. Also known as the December birth flower, poinsettias symbolize good cheer and success and are said to bring wishes of mirth and celebration.
The poinsettias we recognize today are a contribution to Christmas from the Palmetto State. We can thank Joel Roberts Poinsett of Greenville, South Carolina for that.
