Christmas can be the most exciting time of the year, but finding the perfect gift is a challenge that everyone faces at some point. This story reminds us that that any gift is beautiful when given with love and even the smallest gift would be appreciated if given with an open heart! [13], The tropical dry forests where wild poinsettias grow experience largely unregulated deforestation, resulting in habitat loss. The poinsettia is named after the man who first brought the plant to the United States. How the Poinsettia became known as Christmas symbol? [14] In 1944, the plant was included in H. R. Arnold's book Poisonous Plants of Hawaii on this premise. They are grouped within the cyathia (small yellow structures found in the center of each leaf bunch, or false flowers). Poinsettias are not poisonous to pets or children as commonly believed unless ingested in large quantities. Poinsettias are tropical plants and can grow nearly 10 feet high in the wild. Just because it’s not harmful doesn’t mean it’s safe to eat. Infection by poinsettia branch-inducing phytoplasma is actually desirable, as it keeps the plants shorter with more flowers. By 1836, the plant was widely known as the Poinsettia in English-speaking countries. Joel Roberts Poinsett was appointed by President John Quincy Adams as … Unfortunately, she had no gift to present to the Christ child during the Christmas Eve, so she gathered a bundle of roadside weeds and formed a bouquet. In 1825, President James Monroe appointed Poinsett the first U.S. ambassador to Mexico. Bracts are a showy set of leaves that form on top of the dark green foliage of a poinsettia. [29], Albert Ecke emigrated from Germany to Los Angeles in 1900, opening a dairy and orchard in the Eagle Rock area. When it comes to watering Poinsettias, you have to find the balance between not too wet and not too dry. Many of these poinsettias are grown by the Ecke family business, which serves half the worldwide market and 70% of the US market. The plant has dark green leaves and yellow flowers surrounded with large, colorful bracts which look like petals. If possible, move the plant to a cooler room at night. They were the first to begin using Poinsettias at the holidays during their Nativity ceremonies. Poinsettia was named after the United States ambassador to Mexico Joel Roberts Poinsett (1779-1851), who played a crucial role in making the Poinsettia into the most popular Christmas plant. [8] Cultivation in the US began when diplomat Joel Roberts Poinsett sent some of the plants back to his greenhouses in South Carolina in the 1820s. Indigenous to Mexico and Central America, it was described as a new species in 1834. Christmas time is here and the magic of the season is all around us! Cassidy Klassen Blog, Gardening. These trees, in their wild form widely grow across Mexico to Guatemala. As the plant gained in popularity in the United States, horticulturalist William Prescott honored the ambassador who brought it here with its common name – Poinsettia. Every year in the US, approximately 70 million poinsettias of many cultivated varieties are sold in a six-week period. [7], Euphorbia pulcherrima is a shrub or small tree, typically reaching a height of 0.6–4 metres (2–13 ft). This introduction forever changed the way we think about Poinsettias, not only in United States, but all over the world. [16], The poinsettia occurs in Central America, occurring from Mexico to southern Guatemala. It is particularly well known for its red and green foliage and is widely used in Christmas floral displays. Information and translations of poinsettia in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. [15] Contact with any part of the plant by children or pets often has no effect, though it may cause nausea, diarrhea, or vomiting if swallowed. And remember, the smaller pots need watering more often than big ones because they dry out faster. Taxonomically speaking, Euphorbia pulcherrima, widely known as Poinsettia, belongs to a large family of plants known as Euphorbiaceae (the Spurge family). His son, Paul Ecke, developed the grafting technique, but it was the third generation of Eckes, Paul Ecke Jr., who was responsible for advancing the association between the plant and Christmas. Poinsettias are part of the Euphorbiaceae or Spurge family. A nurseryman from Pennsylvania, John Bartram is credited as being the first person to sell poinsettias under its botanical name, Euphorbia pulcherrima There is a somewhat anomalous population of wild poinsettias in the northern part of the Mexican state of Guerrero and Oaxaca, which is much further inland in the hot and seasonally dry forests than the rest of the species' range. Poinsettias are cheery plants that are widely grown indoors over Christmas for their brightly coloured bracts. He introduced this tree to the United States in the early 1820s. Make sure the Poinsettias get a specific amount of light. As the plant grew in popularity, it was eventually named after Poinsett, who had a long and honored career as a congressman and a founder of the Smithsonian Institution. - Last year, the wholesale value of the poinsettia crop reached nearly $170 million-a jump of more than 400 percent from 1976. With its striking red and green leaves and starry shape, it easily adds a Christmassy touch wherever it's featured. The poinsettia was named after Joel Poinsett, the first United States Ambassador to Mexico, who "discovered" it while he was on a trip in 1828. DON’T Forget to Protect the Plant in the Car. Today, Poinsettias are an indispensable part of Christmas decor throughout the world. [10][11] The colors of the bracts are created through photoperiodism, meaning that they require darkness (at least fourteen hours at a time for 6–8 weeks in a row) to change color. [23][24], The Aztecs were the first to cultivate poinsettias. [4] This misconception was spread by a 1919 urban legend of a two-year-old child dying after consuming a poinsettia leaf. [32], Species of flowering plant in the spurge family Euphorbiaceae, American Association of Poison Control Centers, "Beschreibung zweier neuen Euphorbien aus Mexico", "The Poinsettia: History and Transformation", "Poinsettia's wild ancestor in the Mexican dry tropics: Historical, genetic, and environmental evidence", "The Legends and Traditions of Holiday Plants | Horticulture and Home Pest News", "The Legends and Traditions of Holiday Plants", "The poinsettia: Jesus' life story in a plant", "The bloom is off the poinsettia business", "How America's Most Popular Potted Plant Captured Christmas", "First Report of Wilt and Stem Canker of Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) Caused by Phytophthora nicotianae in Puerto Rico", "Poinsettias: Helping an Icon to Bloom at the Right Time", "How Poinsettias Became Synonymous With Christmas", Plant Pathology Fact Sheet: Poinsettia Diseases, List of Christmas gift-bringers by country, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Poinsettia&oldid=991982136, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 2 December 2020, at 21:12. He also appeared on television programs like The Tonight Show and Bob Hope's Christmas specials to promote the plants. Poinsettias are popular garden plants in tropical and subtropical areas and are well-known potted plants associated with winter festivities in temperate regions. Poinsettia was named after the United States ambassador to Mexico Joel Roberts Poinsett (1779-1851), who played a crucial role in making the Poinsettia into the most popular Christmas plant. Population sizes are frequently very small, with as few as a dozen individuals. Other names used to describe poinsettias include flame leaf flower and lobster flower. And indeed, the plant is deserving of its name. Today, Poinsettia is the most popular Christmas plant and is grown globally for Christmas celebrations. It is not coincidence that Mexican people admire this plant. mid-November) the poinsettia plant is the perfect first step to sprinkling a little festive joy in our homes. [9] Prior to poinsettia, it was known as "Mexican flame flower" or "painted leaf". At the start of the 20th century, his father Paul Ecke Senior developed the first Poinsettia that could be successfully grown as an indoor potted plant and Poinsettia began to be widely popular. The use of the plant in celebrating Christmas actually dates all the way back to the 17th century, when Franciscan monks in Mexico began using it at the Christmas ceremony.

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