The Poinsettia - the Christmas Star.

We have a good horticulture department at the Mall, and we have received many complements on how much work they do to take care of the plants. We get a huge shipment of Poinsettia's this time of year of course, so I was interested in the plant.

I looked it up on Wikipedia. I know its native to Mexico and wanted to know the Hispanic names for it. The plant first came to prominence in the US after the first US Ambasador to Mexico, Joel Roberts Poinsett, brought the plant back to the US. Since it flowers during the Christmas season, it was associated in Mexico with Christmas. In Mexico it is known as the "Bent El Consul" or the Consul's Daughter after Poinsett. In Nahuatl, the decendent of Aztec languages, the plant is called Cuitlaxochitl meaning "star flower."

One thing I was surprised at is that the myth that Poinsettia's are poisionous. While they can cause dirraeah and vomiting the planet is not necessiarially toxic. Its an old wives tale. Some are alergic to the latex that the plant produces naturally, so sensitive indivduals shouldn't have the plant in their homes. But it is not a deadly plant.

Well, that's our history lesson for today. Time to sit back and enjoy the day off. Cheers.