La Flor de Noche Buena, better known as poinsettia to English-speakers, is the holiday season’s most popular decorative plant. It flourishes this time of year in Mexico, its native land.
Fun facts about poinsettias
• Poinsettias are the quintessential ornamental flowering plants of the Christmas season.
• A member of the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae), the species is native to Mexico and Central America.
• In warm climates, poinsettias thrive outdoors as leggy shrubs, reaching up to three meters in height. Potted plants, however, rarely exceed one meter.
• What appear to be petals are actually colored leaf-like bracts that surround a central cluster of tiny yellow flowers. The bracts of wild plants are typically scarlet red or cream-colored, while cultivated varieties may come in shades of pink or variegated patterns.
• The plant was cultivated and highly valued by the Aztecs and Mayans long before the Spanish conquest. It was known as cuetlaxochitl (brilliant flower) in Nahuatl and k’alul wits (ember flower) in the Mayan language.
• Indigenous peoples used poinsettias for aesthetic, practical, and medicinal purposes. The milky white sap was applied to the breasts of nursing women to stimulate milk production. It was also used as a depilatory and to treat heart ailments. The bark and bracts were used to create reddish-purple dyes.
• In Spanish, poinsettias are commonly referred to as Flor de Nochebuena, Santa Catalina, and Estrella de Navidad, among other names.
• The English name “poinsettia” honors Joel R. Poinsett, a U.S. Minister to Mexico in the 1820s who popularized the plant in the United States and encouraged its cultivation abroad.
• Lakeside gardeners recommend radical pruning of outdoor poinsettias once the blooms have faded, typically in January or February. Additional pruning is advised in June and mid-August to maintain the plant’s shape and encourage healthy growth.