FSogol's 2018 Advent Calendar Day 15: Joel Poinsett, US Secretary of War and the Poinsettia

[FSogol]

Last edited Sat Dec 15, 2018, 10:07 AM - Edit history (2)

Where did the poinsettia come from and how did it end up as a Christmas decoration?

As it turns out, the red-leafed plant was introduced to the United States by botanist and statesman Joel Poinsett (1779-1851), who as the first U.S. Minister to Mexico found the plant while serving there. The poinsettia is said to have been used by the Aztecs as a red dye and to reduce fevers.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/a-smithsonian-holiday-story-joel-poinsett-and-the-poinsettia-3081111/


John Roberts Poinsett (1779-1851) (Library of Congress)

Besides being the US Minister (Ambassador) to Mexico, Poinsett was also the Secretary of War, presided over the United States Exploring Expedition which accomplished the first circumnavigation of the globe sponsored by the United States. Poinsetta also was one of the early promoters of the Smithsonian Institute, advising Congress over how to use;

James Smithson bequest. (Although Smithson had never visited the United States, he left his estate of $508,318—about $15 million in today's dollars—to establish in Washington, D.C. an institution for the "increase and diffusion of knowledge." ) At the time, much debate was going on about how best to achieve Smithson's request.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/a-smithsonian-holiday-story-joel-poinsett-and-the-poinsettia-3081111/

But back to the plant itself,

Native to Central America, the plant flourished in an area of Southern Mexico known as Taxco del Alarcon. The Aztecs used the plant decorative purposes but also put the plant to practical use. They extracted a purplish dye for use in textiles and cosmetics from the plant’s bracts. The milky white sap, today called latex, was made into a preparation to treat fevers.

Poinsett maintained his own hothouses on his Greenville, South Carolina plantations, and while visiting the Taxco area in 1828, (as US Minister to Mexico) he became enchanted by the brilliant red blooms he saw there. He immediately sent some of the plants back to South Carolina, where he began propagating the plants and sending them to friends and botanical gardens.

Among the recipients of Poinsett's work was John Bartram of Philadelphia, who in turn gave the plant over to another friend, Robert Buist, a Pennsylvania nurseryman. Mr. Buist is thought to be the first person to have sold the plant under its botanical name, Euphorbia pulcherrima. It is thought to have become known by its more popular name of poinsettia around 1836, the origin of the name recognizing the man who first brought the plant to the United States.

Congress honored Joel Poinsett by declaring December 12th as National Poinsettia Day which commemorates the date of his death in 1851. The day was meant to honor Poinsett and encourage people to enjoy the beauty of the popular holiday plant.

https://www.phoenixflowershops.com/pages/poinsettiahistory.htm

Mexico has a creation myth about the poinsettia where a little girl attending a Nativity scene in a Church and gave the Christ Child the only thing she could find, a small bundle of weedy plants. The Christ child performed a miracle and all the leaves turned red. Mexico calls the plant "Flores de Noche Buena," or Flowers of the Holy Night.

The earliest poinsettias were sold by individual florists and merchants—including the patriarch of the family, Albert Ecke, a German immigrant—and usually as single-cut stems instead of rooted in pots. But they were hardly durable; most would last two or three days, at best.

The Eckes helped transition poinsettias from ephemeral flowers to potted plants, created new shapes and introduced new colors (from shades of white and yellow to those that have names, “ice punch,” “pink peppermint” and “strawberries and cream” among them).

One of the earliest varieties, for which Ecke sought a patent in 1937, was “longer and more attractive; … will bloom in a cooler temperature than other known varieties; the bracts are a clearer and more beautiful color; … will produce more perfect bloom … than any other species of Poinsettia,” he wrote.

It’s one thing to have a ranch bursting with new plants, but it’s another to try to actually sell them. By nature, poinsettias are at their best between November and January, which aligns perfectly with the Christian advent season. For that reason, Paul Sr. started to market the plants as “Christmas flowers.”

Plant Patent 1,207, July 28, 1953

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/how-americas-most-popular-potted-plant-captured-christmas-180949299/#2I6tcXxjBysFP4OV.99

The Eckes family moved their operations indoors and grow poinsettias year round. They hold over 500 plant patents and have unique cutting and grafting procedures that allow them to license plants to other growers. They were marketing geniuses too. They provided plants to many magazines, the Tonight Show and the White House and soon everyone wanted the plant.

(For an explanation of my advent project and a link to last years posts, see
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181152160 )

[smirkymonkey]

1. Very interesting bit of history on the plant.

I had no idea! I love Poinsettias. They are usually my only holiday decoration since I generally spend the holidays elsewhere. Thanks for posting!

[FSogol]

2. Anytime. My Mom kept them year round and would put them in darkness for

16 hours a day starting in August to make them bloom for Christmas time. She had some big ones ranging from red to pink to white.

[appalachiablue]

3. Very interesting history of the lovely plant & growers