One of our previous articles described ways to create a festive spirit using fresh flowers. Today, let’s talk about an adorable plant that happened to become a famous decoration for Christmas celebrations — the poinsettia. The priests named this unique plant “flor de Noche Bueno,” or Flower of the Holy Night, and they used it to decorate the altar of the Holy Virgin. This plant became strongly associated with Christmas and is a popular seasonal decoration. Every year in the US, approximately 70 million various cultivars of poinsettias are sold over six weeks.
Silent night! Holy night!
All is calm, all is bright.
Round yon virgin mother and child!
Joseph Mohr
The official flower of the Holy Night in Mexico
A legend goes that in the 16th century, a girl named Pepita lived in a poor Mexican family. She still wanted to bring gifts in honor of the birth of Christ to the temple on Christmas Eve. But she had no money for anything; all she could do was tear out a few branches of green leaves from a bush on her way to church and make a bouquet. As soon as she laid her modest gift at the foot of the church altar, the leaves miraculously changed their color to bright red. Since then, in Mexico, this flower has become known as the “flower of the Holy Night” (“flor de Noche Buena”). It has been recognized as the official Christmas flower of the country.
In its tropical homeland of Mexico, this shrub from the spurge family grows in moist, shaded places and forms thickets up to 47.24 inches high. It has erect and almost non-curly stems that bear large simple leaves with long petioles. Poinsettia flowers are inconspicuous, look modest, and are not even particularly interesting to pollinating insects. Moreover, the yellowish rosettes of the actual flower buds look more like the stamens surrounded by bright-colored bracts, which is what we mistake for the petals of the Christmas star. Although its natural habitats are deciduous rainforests along the Pacific coast of Mexico, you can still find this plant in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.
Symbolic meaning
And although many other indoor plants bloom at the same time, only the poinsettia has become the symbol of Christmas. There is an explanation rooted in the history of the ancient Aztec tribes. Long before the most beautiful spurge was proclaimed the “flower of the Holy Night,” the poinsettia had been a symbol of purity for the Aztecs for centuries.
After the destruction of the Aztec empire and the disappearance of the cultural traditions of the Aztecs, the French founded a Christian mission in Mexico. And in the seventeenth century, Franciscan monks, who settled in southern Mexico, grew the poinsettia. They grew poinsettias so they could bloom right before Christmas since their star-shaped leaves symbolized the Star of Bethlehem. That is why they called the flower Noche Buena — the “good night,” referring to the night before Christmas. In addition, Franciscans used poinsettias to decorate Christmas processions and masses, so they eventually became a symbol of the holiday.
Meet Euphorbia pulcherrima, the most beautiful species of the Euphorbia genus
It was only by chance that the poinsettia was recognized in Europe. One winter, Carl Ludwig Willdenow, a manager of the Botanical Garden in Berlin, saw the bright red leaves peeping out of a crack in the greenhouse. He recalled that a friend had brought him this shrub, from a trip to Central America in 1800.
The plant swept the gardener off his feet with its unexpected beauty, especially since it blossomed in the coldest days. He named the shrub Euphorbia pulcherrima — “the most beautiful euphorbia” or “the most beautiful of the euphorbias.” That is how the plant is still referred to in all botanical reference books.
The name “poinsettia” refers to Joel Roberts Poinsett. He was the first United States minister in Mexico from 1825 to 1829. It was he who imported poinsettia cuttings into the United States and shared them with his friends and fellow gardeners. In 1836, historian and gardener William Prescott proposed renaming the plant Poinsettia pulcherrima. Although Poinsett was an outstanding congressman and ambassador, he was mainly immortalized as the man who has introduced the poinsettia to the United States. By the way, the discoverer of poinsettia died on December 12, which is when his beloved plant would be in full bloom.
The flower belongs to the Euphorbia genus. Despite widespread belief, the juice of the poinsettia plant is not venomous and does not cause poisoning or skin irritation when ingested orally. Unless you consume a large amount of the plant, it poses no harm to you. So, there is no need to worry about being harmed by the poinsettia flower.
If you want the Christmas star to light up in your friends’ homes, browse our catalog. Send the symbol of the Holy Night as a gift to your faraway friends.
- Seems a bit small for a Christmas gift? Browse our catalogs to find hundreds of options!
- If you’re looking to order in bulk, our discounts for corporate customers will be a nice surprise.
- Would you like to know more stories about flowers everything flower-related? Follow us on Facebook or Instagram!
Born in Nalchik in 1966, graduated with a major in English Lit, and working as a school teacher since 1990. My interests are diverse: music, good literature, and computer technology at the user level. I like to try new things, and I bring what I started to its logical conclusion. Oh! And I do love my pets! I’m already 54 and I still believe in miracles and hobbits with elves and Gandalf. I myself am a bit of an adventuress like a hobbit, and I love mushrooms, too, like they do.