A Quick History of the Poinsettias

They adorn mantels, tables, and hallways across the country. Poinsettias were originally brought to the United States by Joel R. Poinsett, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico. He liked the spiky red desert plant so much that he shipped it in the first load in 1820. Today, the plant bears his name and is so popular that we even have a National Poinsettia Day (December 12).

The plant’s association with Christmas began in 16th-century Mexico, where legend tells of a young girl too poor to bring a gift for the celebration of Jesus’ birth. According to the story, she was inspired by an angel to gather roadside weeds and place them at the church altar. Crimson “blossoms” miraculously appeared, transforming the weeds into what we now know as poinsettias. By the 17th century, Franciscan friars in Mexico had incorporated the plant into Christmas celebrations. Its star-shaped leaves came to symbolize the Star of Bethlehem, while the red color represents the blood of Christ. In Spain, it is known as “Flor de Pascua” (“Easter flower”), and in countries like Chile and Peru, it is called the “Crown of the Andes.”

The poinsettia’s rise in the United States is largely credited to Albert Ecke, who emigrated from Germany to Los Angeles in 1900. Settling in the Eagle Rock area, he operated a dairy and orchard but became fascinated with the poinsettia, eventually selling the plants from roadside stands. His son, Paul Ecke, developed grafting techniques that improved the plant’s structure, but it was his grandson, Paul Ecke Jr., who helped turn the poinsettia into a national Christmas symbol.

Paul Ecke Jr. transformed the business by shifting distribution from mature plants shipped by rail to cuttings sent by air, making poinsettias more widely available. He also promoted them heavily through television, sending free plants to stations to display on air and appearing on programs like The Tonight Show and Bob Hope Christmas Specials. Until the 1990s, the Ecke family—by then based in Encinitas—maintained a near monopoly on the market thanks to a closely guarded technique: grafting two varieties together to create a fuller, more compact plant. Left to grow naturally, poinsettias tend to look sparse and weedy, but the Ecke method ensured the lush, bushy appearance now associated with the holiday season.

In the 1990s, a university researcher discovered the method previously known only to the Eckes and published it, allowing competitors to flourish, particularly those using low-cost labor in Latin America. The Ecke family's business, now led by Paul Ecke III, decided to stop producing plants in the U.S., but as of 2008, they still serve about 70% of the domestic market and 50% of the worldwide market.

For years, poinsettias had the bad reputation of being poisonous. While they are not meant to be eaten by humans, pets, or livestock, ingesting poinsettias would probably cause some stomach upset, as would eating most any houseplant. However, poinsettias have undergone extensive testing, and there is no evidence that they are toxic or unsafe to have in the house. They are also safe to put into the compost.

A more likely problem to watch out for is contact dermatitis. Euphorbia exudes a milky sap when broken. (Think of milkweed.) Some people are sensitive to this sap, which can cause an itchy rash. Be especially careful not to rub your eyes after touching the plants.

They’re beautiful, they’re safe, they say Christmas.