Poinsettias are a very popular holiday plant
with a long history even before Europeans
arrived in the new world. Native to Southern
Mexico, the plant grew naturally in the
highlands and bloomed during the short days
of winter. The Native Aztecs grew the plant
around their homes as decoration, but also had practical reasons for growing
it close to where they lived. The Aztecs made a purple dye from the bracts
for use in cosmetics and textiles. The latex in the sap was prepared and
used as a fever treatment.
The plant could have remained a folk medicine if not for the chance
encounter by the first United States Ambassador to Mexico, Joel Robert
Poinsett. President Madison appointed Poinsett to the job in 1825. Poinsett
had a medical background but was also interested in Horticulture. During
his travels to the Mexican state of Taxco in 1828, he saw the plant in full
bloom and was immediately struck by its beauty. He took some plants
back to his South Carolina plantation where he maintained hothouses.
His staff propagated the plants and from those first cuttings the plants
were dispersed to friends and family. One such friend was John Bartram
of Philadelphia, who gave the plant to a nurseryman named Robert Buist
who sold the plant under the botanical name of Euphorbia Pulcherrima,
which means “the most beautiful Euphorbia”. Sometime around 1836 a
popular name for the plant was coined and it began to be called poinsettia.
National Poinsettia Day
By act of Congress, December 12 is national poinsettia day. That day was
chosen because it was the date that marks the death of Joel Poinsett
(March 2, 1779 – December 12, 1851). The purpose of the day is to enjoy
this beautiful holiday plant. Be sure to give a poinsettia to someone you
care about on December 12th, National Poinsettia Day.
Poinsettia trivia for family gatherings
1) Question: Poinsettias are native to what country?
Answer: Mexico.
2) Question: What people made a reddish-purple dye
from the bracts of the poinsettia?
Answer: The Aztecs.
3) Question: What did the Aztecs call the poinsettia?
Answer: It was called Cuetlaxochitl.
4) Question: What are they called in Chile and Peru?
Answer: “The Crown of the Andes”.
5) Question: What city is the poinsettia bowl played?
Answer: San Diego.
6) Question: What is the world’s most popular potted blooming plant?
Answer: The Poinsettia.
7) Question: How many poinsettias are sold in the United States in a year?
A) Over 10 million plants
B) Over 25 million plants
C) Over 60 million plants
D Over 100 million plants
Answer: C over 61 million sold in 2004
8) Question: Who introduced poinsettias to the United States?
Answer: Joel Poinsett, the first Ambassador to Mexico.
9) Question: In nature, are poinsettias classified as an annual, a perennial,
a shrub, a tree or an evergreen?
Answer: They are considered a shrub that grows 10’+ tall.
10) Question: Poinsettias have colorful leaves, what are they called?
Answer: Bracts, the small yellow centers are actually the flowers.
11 Question: Are poinsettias poisonous?
Answer: Absolutely not, they have been tested and are not
considered salad food, but are not poisonous to people or pets.
12) Question: How many millions of dollars in poinsettias are sold in the
United States during the holiday season?
A) 160 million
B) 220 million
C) 300 million
D) 450 million
Answer: (B) The U.S. population purchases over $220 million
dollars of poinsettias
13) Question: What percentage of all holiday plants sold in the
United States are poinsettias?
A) Over 55%
B) Over 65%
C) Over 75%
D) Over 85%
Answer: (D) over 85% of the blooming plant sales are poinsettias.
14) Question: How many states produce poinsettias commercially?
Answer: All 50 states produce poinsettias commercially.
15) Question: Which of the 50 states produces the most poinsettias?
Answer: California is the top poinsettia producing state.
16) Question: There is a national poinsettia day, when is it?
Answer: On December 12th Joel Poinsett died and in his honor
Congress named that date “national poinsettia day.”
17) Question: What is the name of the ranch in Southern California that
grows over 80% of the poinsettias used for the wholesale market?
Answer: The Ecke Ranch, The Ecke family is considered the
first family of the poinsettia industry.
18) Question: What percentage of the world’s poinsettias originated
at the Ecke Ranch?
A) 50%
B) 70%
C) 90%
D) 100%
Answer: (C) 90% of the world’s poinsettias came out of the
Ecke Ranch at some point.
19) Question: How many poinsettia varieties are available?
A) Over 75
B) Over 100
C) Over 200
D) Over 300
Answer: (B) over 100 varieties of poinsettias are available today.
20) Question: What percentage of poinsettias sold are red?
A) 57%
B) 74%
C) 83%
D) 91%
Answer: (B) 74% buy red, 6% prefer pink, 8% prefer white and
12% prefer all the other colors combinations.
21) Question: Who purchases more poinsettias Men or Women?
Answer: Women, they purchase 85% of all poinsettias.
22 Question: People 40 and older purchase the majority of poinsettias.
What percentage of poinsettias do they buy?
A) 60%
B) 70%
C) 80%
D) 90%
Answer: (C) They purchase over 80% of the poinsettia crop
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