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Community Corner

Happy National Poinsettia Day

A brief history of the holiday plant and its connection to Southern California.

Editor's Note: A version of this article was originally published on sister site . We decided to share the fun facts with Palos Verdes readers.

Monday marks National Poinsettia Day, which celebrates the plant—and pays tribute to the life and death of the first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Joel Roberts Poinsett, the man who helped introduce the plant to America. 

Native to Mexico and Central America, the poinsettia would have likely stayed regional if not for Poinsett, who became obsessed with the plant and began shipping it back to his plantation in South Carolina in 1826.

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The botanical name for the poinsettia is euphorbia pulcherrima, but by 1836, it was most commonly known as the poinsettia through the trading and introduction efforts of Poinsett, who also helped found what is known today as the Smithsonian Institute.

The poinsettia’s ties to Christmas date back to a 16th century Mexican tale about a little girl who was too poor to give a gift in honor of Jesus Christ’s birthday. The story says that she was inspired by an angel to collect a handful of weeds from the side of the road and present them as her offering on the church altar.

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When placed on the altar, red blossoms and flowers grew from the weeds and became magnificent poinsettias. After that, many religious figures in Mexico used the poinsettias in their holiday festivities. The star shape of the poinsettia is said to represent the Star of Bethlehem.

Now there are more than 100 cultivated varieties of poinsettias. 

Contrary to popular belief, poinsettias are not poisonous, according to the Mayo Clinic, and the American Veterinary Medicine Association of America does not list the poinsettia on its list of plants that are dangerous to animals. But poinsettias are in the euphorbia family and their milky latex sap can be irritating to the skin.

This time of year the winter-blooming plant, which is more of a shrub than a flower, can be found everywhere. Here are tips to keep a poinsettia happy and healthy during and after the prime holiday season:

  • Water the poinsettia often, but do not over-water or drown it.
  • Keep it somewhere safe from temperature, out of drafts and extreme hot or cold.
  • Keep the plant away from furnaces and air-conditioners. High temperatures shorten the plant’s lifespan.
  • Place the plant in good light inside the house.
  • Check the plant’s soil daily. Water the plant when the soil is dry.
  • Do not fertilize the plant while it’s in bloom. After the holiday season, a houseplant fertilizer can be used once a month.
  • The actual flowers of the plant are the yellow clusters in the center of the bracts. For a longer-lasting poinsettia, choose a plant with little or no yellow pollen showing.
  • Getting the poinsettia to re-bloom and get the bracts colored at the right time is a very delicate process.
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