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The Poinsettia

A charming story is told of Pepita, a poor Mexican girl who had no gift to present the Christ Child at Christmas Eve Services. As Pepita walked slowly to the chapel, her heart was filled with sadness. Her cousin Pedro tried to console her. "Pepita," he said "I am certain that even the most humble gift, given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes."

Not knowing what else to do, Pepita gathered a handful of common weeds from the roadside and fashioned them into a small bouquet. She looked at the scraggly bunch of weeds and felt embarrassed by the humbleness of the offering. Yet, this was the only gift she could offer.

As she entered the chapel and approached the altar, she remembered the words of her cousin. "Even the most humble gift, given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes." Her spirits began to lift as she knelt down and laid the bouquet at the foot of the nativity scene.

Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst into blooms of brilliant red, and all who saw them were certain that they had seen a Christmas miracle right before their eyes. From that day on, the bright red flowers were known as the Flores de Noche Buena, or Flowers of the Holy Night. Today, the common name for these plants is poinsettias!

 Some Facts about the Poinsettia

• Montezuma, the last of the Aztec kings, would have poinsettias brought into what is now Mexico City by caravans because poinsettias could not be grown in the high altitude.

• Poinsettias are native to Mexico.

• Chile and Peru called the poinsettia the "Crown of the Andes."

• Poinsettias are part of the Euphorbiaceae family. Many plants in this family ooze a milky sap.

• In nature, poinsettias are a perennial flowering shrubs that can grow to ten feet tall.

• The showy colored part of poinsettias that most people think are the flowers are actually colored bracts (modified leaves). The flowers or cyathia of the poinsettia are in the center of the colorful bracts.

• Poinsettias have been called the lobster flower and flame leaf flower.

• According to the Ohio State University, poinsettias are not poisonous.

• A study at Ohio State University showed that a 50 pound child who ate 500 bracts might have a slight tummy ache.

• A fresh poinsettia is one on which little or no yellow pollen is showing on the flower clusters in the center of the bracts.

• Poinsettias represent over 85 percent of the potted plant sales during the holiday season.

• Ninety percent of all poinsettias are exported from the United States.

• Poinsettias were introduced into the United States in 1825 by Joel Poinsett.

• Poinsettias are commercially grown in all 50 states.

• California is the top poinsettia producing state.

• December 12 is National Poinsettia Day.

• The Paul Ecke Ranch in California grows over 80 percent of poinsettias in the United States for the wholesale market.

• Ninety per cent of all the flowering poinsettias in the world got their start at the Paul Ecke Ranch.

• There are over 100 varieties of poinsettias available.

• $220 million worth of poinsettias are sold during the holiday season.

• Seventy-four percent of Americans still prefer red poinsettias; 8 percent prefer white and 6 percent pink.

• Eighty percent of poinsettias are purchased by women.

• Eighty percent of people who purchase poinsettias are 40 or older

• Poinsettias are the best selling potted plant in the United States.