By Nicole McLeod and Jyotsna Sharma
Have you ever wondered how the poinsettia is connected to the winter holidays? The poinsettia flowers we typically see in shop displays are native to Central Mexico and a member of the Euphorbiaceae or Spurge family.
It was introduced to the United States by botanist and diplomat Joel Robert Poinsett, the first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico who noticed the plant blooming in the region and brought it back to South Carolina. He also gifted it to Andrew Jackson for a Christmas display in the White House, making it a holiday tradition.
The cultivated ornamental variety we see in nurseries was given the Latin name, Euphorbia pulcherrima, by a German botanist, which translates to “the most beautiful euphorbia”. The genus name likely honors Euphorbus, a first-century physician to the King of Mauretania (a Roman province in what is today Algeria).
The Aztecs called poinsettias ‘Cuetlaxochitl’ and were said to have used it as a red dye and to reduce fevers. Because poinsettias could not be grown in the high altitudes of Tenochtitlan (or Mexico City), Moctezuma had caravans of poinsettias brought in to decorate palaces and temples.
Although this the well-known poinsettia isn’t native to Texas, there are four poinsettia species native to Texas, the Painted poinsettia or Fire-on-the-mountain, (Euphorbia cyathophor), Snow-on-the-mountain (Euphorbia marginata), Snow-on-the-prairie, (Euphorbia bicolor), and a fourth species, called Green poinsettia which is sometimes categorized as a noxious weed (Euphorbia dentata). As you walk through the parks this holiday season, look for our native poinsettia.
In the Park
Snow-on-the-mountain can be seen in Phil Hardberger Park throughout the Savanna. It towers over the grasses, growing up to 6 feet tall.
It blooms from July through October and is an important food source for pollinators.