Thepoinsettia (/pɔɪnˈsɛt(i)ə/;[1][2][3]Euphorbia pulcherrima) is a commercially importantflowering plant species of the diverse spurge familyEuphorbiaceae. Indigenous to Mexico and Central America, the poinsettia was first described by Europeans in 1834. It is particularly well known for its red and green foliage and is widely used inChristmas floral displays. It derives its common English name fromJoel Roberts Poinsett, the firstUnited States minister to Mexico, who is credited with introducing the plant to the US in the 1820s. Poinsettias are shrubs or small trees, with heights of 0.6 to 4 m (2.0 to 13.1 ft). Though often stated to be highly toxic, the poinsettia is not dangerous[4] to pets or children. Exposure to the plant, even consumption, most often results in no effect,[5] though it can cause nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.[4]
Wild poinsettias occur from Mexico to southern Guatemala, growing on mid-elevation, Pacific-facing slopes. One population in the Mexican state ofGuerrero is much further inland, however, and is thought to be the ancestor of most cultivated populations. Wild poinsettia populations are highly fragmented, as their habitat is experiencing largely unregulateddeforestation. They were cultivated by theAztecs for use intraditional medicine. They became associated with the Christmas holiday and are popular seasonal decorations. Every year in the United States, approximately 70 million poinsettias of many cultivated varieties are sold in a six-week period. Many of these poinsettias are grown byPaul Ecke Ranch, which serves half the worldwide market and 70 percent of the US market.
It was known by the common name "poinsettia" as early as 1836,[8] derived fromJoel Roberts Poinsett, a botanist and the first US Minister to Mexico.[9] Possibly as early as 1826, Poinsett began sending poinsettias from Mexico back to his greenhouses in South Carolina.[10] Prior to poinsettia, it was known as "Mexican flame flower" or "painted leaf".[8]
A full-grown specimen ofE. pulcherrimaScientific illustration ofE. pulcherrima, ca. 1880
Euphorbia pulcherrima is a shrub or small tree, typically reaching a height of 0.6–4 metres (2–13 ft). The plant bears dark greendentate leaves that measure 6–16 centimetres (2.4–6.3 in) in length. The coloredbracts—which are normally flaming red, with cultivars being orange, pale green, cream, pink, white, or marbled—are often mistaken for flowerpetals because of their groupings and colors, but are actually leaves.[11][12] The colors of the bracts are created throughphotoperiodism, meaning that they require darkness (at least fourteen hours at a time for 6–8 weeks in a row) to change color. The plants also require abundant light during the day for the brightest color.[13]Semi-evergreen, they generally lose most of their leaves during winter.[14]
The flowers of the poinsettia are unassuming. They are grouped within thecyathia (small yellow structures found in the center of each leaf bunch, or false flowers).[11] Nothing is known aboutpollination in wild poinsettias, thoughwasps are noted to occasionally visit the cyathia.[15] All flowers in the Euphorbiaceae areunisexual (either male or female only), and they are often very small in size. InEuphorbia, the flowers are reduced even more and then aggregated into aninflorescence or cluster of flowers.[16]
Newspaper headline from theHonolulu Star-Bulletin (1913) wrongly alleging that poinsettia is deadly
Poinsettias are popularly, though incorrectly, said to be toxic to humans and other animals.[5] This misconception was spread by a 1919urban legend of a two-year-old child dying after consuming a poinsettia leaf.[17] In 1944, the plant was included in H. R. Arnold's bookPoisonous Plants of Hawaii on this premise. Though Arnold later admitted that the story was hearsay and that poinsettias were not proven to be poisonous, the plant was thus thought deadly. In 1970 the USFood and Drug Administration published a newsletter stating erroneously that "one poinsettia leaf can kill a child", and in 1980 they were prohibited from nursing homes in a county in North Carolina due to this supposed toxicity.[5]
An attempt to determine a poisonous dose of poinsettia to rats failed, even after reaching experimental doses equivalent to consuming 500 leaves, or nearly 1 kg (2.2 lb) of sap.[18] Contact with any part of the plant by children or pets often has no effect, though it may cause nausea, diarrhea, or vomiting if swallowed. External exposure to the plant may result in a skin rash for some.[4] A survey of more than 20,000 calls to theAmerican Association of Poison Control Centers from 1985–1992 related to poinsettia exposure showed no fatalities. In 92.4% of calls, there was no effect from exposure, and in 3.4% of calls there were minor effects, defined as "minimally bothersome".[5] Similarly, a cat or dog's exposure to poinsettias rarely necessitates medical treatment. If ingested, mild drooling or vomiting can occur, or rarely, diarrhea. In rare cases, exposure to the eye may result in eye irritation. Skin exposure to the sap may cause itchiness, redness, or swelling.[19] It can induceasthma andallergic rhinitis in certain groups of people.[20][21]
Pulcherrol and pulcherryl acetate are among the components of its latex.[22][23]Triterpenes are found in aerial parts of the plant, including its latex and leaves.[24][25][26][27] One such triterpenoid skeleton is being investigated for its anti-Alzheimer's disease bioactivity.[27]
The poinsettia occurs in North and Central America, from Mexico to southern Guatemala. Its range is about 2,000 km (1,200 mi) long, encompassing mid-elevationtropical dry forests. Most wild populations are on Pacific-facing slopes in steep canyons. Populations were once found in rolling hill areas, though many have gone extinct. It has been hypothesized that the inaccessibility of the canyons may protect the wild populations from human disturbance. There is a somewhat anomalous population of wild poinsettias in the northern part of the Mexican state ofGuerrero andOaxaca, which is much further inland in the hot and seasonally dry forests than the rest of the species' range. Genetic analyses showed that the wild populations in northern Guerrero are the likely ancestors of most cultivated poinsettias.[15]
The tropical dry forests where wild poinsettias grow experience largely unregulated deforestation, resulting in habitat loss. Its natural habitat is thus highlyfragmented, particularly near metropolitan areas such asTaxco. Population sizes are frequently very small, with as few as a dozen individuals. Populations can be up to several hundred individuals, but this is not typical. A conservation risk typical for species with wild and cultivated populations is the contamination of the wild gene pool by hybridization with cultivated individuals. This has not been documented in wild poinsettias, though, as cultivars seldom flower and do not produce fruits. As of 2012, wild poinsettias were not protected by Mexican law.[15]
Aztec people use the plant to produce red dye and as anantipyretic medication.[11] InNahuatl, the language of theAztecs, the plant is calledcuetlaxōchitl, meaning "flower that grows in residues or soil",[11] or, literally, "excrement flower", because: "Birds would eat the seeds and deposit them somewhere, and so it seemed that the seeds would germinate and grow from bird droppings."[28] Today it is known in Mexico and Guatemala asflor de nochebuena or simplynochebuena, meaning "Christmas Eve flower".[11] In Spain it is known asflor de Pascua orPascua, meaning "Easter flower".[11] In Chile and Peru, the plant became known as the "crown of the Andes".[11]
From the 17th century, friars of the Franciscan Christianreligious order in Mexico included the plants in their Christmas celebrations.[29] The star-shaped leaf pattern is said to symbolize theStar of Bethlehem, the red color represents the blood shed during the sacrifice ofJesus' crucifixion, and the white leaves represent the purity of Jesus.[30] The use of the poinsetta during Christmastide is additionally related to a Christian folk story in Mexico about a poor girl named Pepita:[30]
Pepita had no present to offer baby Jesus at the Christmas Eve service. As she walked to church, she noticed weeds growing alongside the road. She gathered a bouquet of weeds (some accounts say she did this at the urging of an angel). When Pepita laid her bouquet at the feet of the Christ Child, the weeds burst into bright red flowers. From that night on, the poinsettia was known as “Flores de Noche Buena,” or “Flowers of the Holy Night.”[30]
Poinsettias are popular Christmas decorations[31] in homes, churches, offices, and elsewhere across North America, as a result of an extensive marketing campaign by the Ecke family that began by shipping free poinsettias to television stations for use on-air.[32] In the US, December 12 is National Poinsettia Day, marking the anniversary of Joel Roberts Poinsett's death.[33][34]
TheAztecs were the first to cultivate poinsettias.[9] Cultivation in the US began when diplomat Joel Roberts Poinsett sent some of the plants back to his greenhouses in South Carolina in the 1820s. Specific details about its spread from there are largely unverifiable, but it was exhibited at thePennsylvania Horticultural Society's 1829Philadelphia Flower Show by Colonel Robert Carr.[8] Carr described it as "a newEuphorbia with bright scarlet bracts or floral leaves, presented to the Bartram Collection by Mr. Poinsett, United States Minister of Mexico."[8]
The poinsettia is the world's most economically important potted plant.[15] Each year in the US, approximately 70 million poinsettias are sold in a period of six weeks, at a value of US$250 million.[35] In Puerto Rico, where poinsettias are grown extensively in greenhouses, the industry is valued at $5 million annually.[36] There are over 100 cultivated varieties of poinsettia that have beenpatented in the US.[37][11][12]
To produce extra axillary buds that are necessary for plants containing multiple flowers, aphytoplasma infection—whose symptoms include theproliferation of axillary buds—is used.[38] The discovery of the role phytoplasmas play in the growth of axillary buds is credited to Ing-Ming Lee of theUSDAAgricultural Research Service.[39]
Albert Ecke emigrated from Germany toLos Angeles in 1900, opening a dairy and orchard in theEagle Rock area. He became intrigued by the plant and sold them from street stands. His son, Paul Ecke, developed the grafting technique, but it was the third generation of Eckes, Paul Ecke Jr., who was responsible for advancing the association between the plant and Christmas.[32]
Besides changing the market from mature plants shipped by rail tocuttings sent by air, he sent free plants to television stations for them to display on air from Thanksgiving to Christmas. He also appeared on television programs likeThe Tonight Show andBob Hope's Christmas specials to promote the plants.[32]
Until the 1990s, the Ecke family, who had moved their operation toEncinitas, California, in 1923, had a virtual monopoly on poinsettias owing to a technique that made their plants much more attractive. They produced a fuller, more compact plant bygrafting two varieties of poinsettia together. A poinsettia left to grow on its own will naturally take an open, somewhat weedy look. The Eckes' technique made it possible to get every seedling to branch, resulting in a bushier plant.[40]
In the late 1980s, university researcher John Dole discovered the grafting method (grafting rarer densely-branched cultivars onto more common sparsely-branched cultivars) – previously known only to the Eckes – and published it.[41] This allowed competitors to flourish, particularly those using low-cost labor inLatin America. The Ecke family's business, now led by Paul Ecke III, decided to stop producing plants in the US, but as of 2008, they still served about 70 percent of the domestic market and 50 percent of the worldwide market.[32][42]
Poinsettias are susceptible to several diseases, mostly fungal, but also bacterial and parasitic. Conditions that promote poinsettia propagation also favor certain diseases. Fungal diseases affecting greenhouse poinsettia operations includePythium root rot,Rhizoctonia root and stem rot,black root rot,scab,powdery mildew, andBotrytis blight. Bacterial diseases includebacterial soft rot and bacterialcanker, while a viral disease isPoinsettia mosaic virus. Infection by poinsettia branch-inducing phytoplasma is actually desirable, as it keeps the plants shorter with more flowers. It is the first knownphytoplasma that has economically advantageous effects.[43]
^abc"Poinsettias".Poison Control. National Capital Poison Center. RetrievedNovember 26, 2019.
^abcdKrenzelok, Edward P.; Jacobsen, T.D; Aronis, John M. (1996). "Poinsettia exposures have good outcomes … just as we thought".The American Journal of Emergency Medicine.14 (7):671–674.doi:10.1016/S0735-6757(96)90086-8.PMID8906768.
^abcdTaylor, Judith M.; Lopez, Roberto G.; Currey, Christopher J.; Jan, Jules (2011)."The Poinsettia: History and Transformation"(PDF).Chronica Horticulturae.51 (3):23–27. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on November 27, 2021. RetrievedNovember 14, 2019.
^abPoinsettias(PDF) (Report). Colorado State University Extension. November 2009. 7.412. RetrievedNovember 14, 2019.[permanent dead link]
^"Poinsett's Popular Poinsettia".History, Art & Archives: United States House of Representatives. December 12, 2013. RetrievedNovember 14, 2019.
^abcdTrejo, L.; Feria Arroyo, T. P.; Olsen, K. M.; Eguiarte, L. E.; Arroyo, B.; Gruhn, J. A.; Olson, M. E. (2012). "Poinsettia's wild ancestor in the Mexican dry tropics: Historical, genetic, and environmental evidence".American Journal of Botany.99 (7):1146–1157.doi:10.3732/ajb.1200072.PMID22763354.S2CID23653130.
^"EUPHORBIA PBI".www.euphorbiaceae.org. Archived fromthe original on March 28, 2009. RetrievedDecember 11, 2020.
^Dominguez XA, Garcia Delgado J, De Lourdes Maffey M, Mares JG, Rombold C (September 1967). "Chemical study of the latex, stems, bracts, and flowers of "Christmas Flower" (Euphorbia pulcherrima) I".Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences.56 (9): 1184–5 contd.doi:10.1002/jps.2600560931.PMID6049711.
^Smith-Kielland I, Dornish JM, Malterud KE, Hvistendahl G, Rømming C, Bøckman OC, Kolsaker P, Stenstrøm Y, Nordal A (August 1996). "Cytotoxic triterpenoids from the leaves of Euphorbia pulcherrima".Planta Medica.62 (4):322–5.doi:10.1055/s-2006-957893.PMID8792663.
^Dougherty, Elizabeth (June 10, 2016)."Patently Poinsettia".US Patent and Trademark Office. Archived fromthe original on December 8, 2019. RetrievedDecember 8, 2019.
^Lee, I.-M.; Klopmeyer, M.; Bartoszyk, I. M.; Gundersen-Rindal, D. E.; Chou, T.-S.; Thomson, K. L.; Eisenreich, R. (1997). "Phytoplasma induced free-branching in commercial poinsettia cultivars".Nature Biotechnology.15 (2):178–182.doi:10.1038/nbt0297-178.PMID9035146.S2CID11228113.
^A GRAFT-TRANSMISSIBLE FACTOR IN EUPHORBIA PULCHERRIMA CAUSING PERMANENT CHANGES IN BRANCHING AND ANOTHER MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS J. Dole, H. Wilkins, ISHS Acta Horticulturae 226, 1987,https://www.actahort.org/books/226/226_34.htmArchived November 26, 2021, at theWayback Machine
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