Newsletters & Blog

December 2023

Poinsettia!

¡Hola! Did you know that poinsettias originated in Mexico? My name is Pedro the Poinsettia, and I can't wait to tell you more about me and my ancestors!

Like I mentioned before, poinsettias are native to Mexico, but more specifically a southern area called Taxco del Alarcon. Around 600 years ago, the ancient Aztecs utilized poinsettias to dye clothing and face paints a reddish-purple color. Poinsettias produce a sappy wax that these ancient cultures used to treat fevers or pains. Today, my fellow plants are typically used as holiday decorations for Christmas time.

While I love the holiday season, my all-time favorite day is December 12th. Any guesses as to what is so special about that day? It is National Poinsettia Day! The twelfth of December was chosen to celebrate poinsettias and to commemorate Joel Roberts Poinsett, the man who brought poinsettias to the United States and who the plant was named after.

Joel Roberts Poinsett was the first United States ambassador to Mexico and decided to bring poinsettias plants home to South Carolina in 1828. Once the plant made its way to the United States, Joel gifted the plants to his friends which led to the sale of poinsettias. Mr. Poinsett passed away on December 12th, 1851, so we celebrate poinsettias on that day. Thanks to Joel Roberts Poinsett, my ancestors were brought to the United States, and we are now grown as the Christmas flower!

Now, why are we labeled as the Christmas flower?

First, the big colorful part of the poinsettia are not flowers. The red or white flower-like parts of the plant are actually special leaves called bracts! The bracts start out as green, but eventually change colors.

To change colors, the bracts need less daylight. The less daylight that poinsettias have, the more we want our bracts to change colors. Poinsettias change in response to changes in the daylength, this is called photoperiodism. During winter, there are fewer hours of daylight which is the perfect condition for me and my poinsettia friends to change colors! This means that the poinsettias “blooms” are right in time for the winter holiday festivities.

To have better control of when we change color, my friends who are grown to be holiday decorations we are grown indoors in greenhouses. Inside of a greenhouse, farmers can regulate the amount of light we receive to control when our bracts change color. In Mexico and other warm-weather climates, poinsettias are grown outside as large shrubs and can reach up to 10 feet tall!

Look for me and my friends in the store this holiday season!

Check out the Michigan Agriculture in the Classroom store to purchase The Legend of the Poinsettias!