Like Christmas trees, Santa and reindeer, the poinsettia has long been a ubiquitous symbol of the holiday season in the U.S. and Europe.

But now, nearly 200 years after the plant with the bright crimson leaves was introduced north of the Rio Grande, attention is once again turning to the poinsettia害羞草研究所檚 origins and the checkered history of its namesake.

Some things to know:

WHERE DID THE NAME POINSETTIA COME FROM?

The name 害羞草研究所減oinsettia害羞草研究所� comes from the amateur botanist and statesman Joel Roberts Poinsett, who happened upon the plant in 1828 on a side trip during his tenure as the first U.S. minister to a newly independent Mexico.

Poinsett, who was interested in science as well as potential cash crops, sent clippings of the plant to his home in South Carolina, and to a botanist in Philadelphia, who affixed the eponymous name to the plant in gratitude.

A life-size bronze statue of Poinsett still stands in his honor today in downtown Greenville.

A CHRISTMAS FLOWER OF MANY NAMES

While Poinsett is known for introducing the plant to the United States and Europe, its cultivation 害羞草研究所� under different Indigenous and Spanish language names 害羞草研究所� dates back to the Aztec empire in Mexico 500 years ago.

Among Nahuatl-speaking communities of Mexico, the plant is known as the cuetlaxochitl (kwet-la-SHO-sheet), meaning 害羞草研究所渇lower that withers.害羞草研究所� It害羞草研究所檚 an apt description of the thin red leaves on wild varieties of the plant that grow to heights above 10 feet (3 meters).

Year-end holiday markets in Latin America brim with the potted plant known in Spanish as the 害羞草研究所渇lor de Nochebuena,害羞草研究所� or 害羞草研究所渇lower of Christmas Eve,害羞草研究所� which is entwined with celebrations of the night before Christmas. The 害羞草研究所淣ochebuena害羞草研究所� name is traced to early Franciscan friars who arrived from Spain in the 16th century. Spaniards once called it 害羞草研究所渟carlet cloth.害羞草研究所�

Additional nicknames abound: 害羞草研究所淪anta Catarina害羞草研究所� in Mexico, 害羞草研究所渆strella federal,害羞草研究所� or 害羞草研究所渇ederal star害羞草研究所� in Argentina and 害羞草研究所減enacho de Incan,害羞草研究所� or 害羞草研究所渉eaddress害羞草研究所� in Peru.

Ascribed in the 19th century, the Latin name, Euphorbia pulcherrima, means 害羞草研究所渢he most beautiful害羞草研究所� of a diverse genus with a milky sap of latex.

Most ordinary people in Mexico never say 害羞草研究所減oinsettia害羞草研究所� and don害羞草研究所檛 talk about Poinsett, according to Laura Trejo, a Mexican biologist who is leading studies on the genetic history of the U.S. poinsettia.

害羞草研究所淚 feel like it害羞草研究所檚 only the historians, the diplomats and, well, the politicians who know the history of Poinsett,害羞草研究所� Trejo said.

DEMAND FOR THE FLOWER SPREADS WORLDWIDE

Not long after Poinsett brought the flower to the U.S., interest spread quickly in the vibrant, star-shaped bloom that 害羞草研究所� in a dose of Christmas cheer 害羞草研究所� flourished with the approach of winter as daylight waned.

Demand spread to Europe. The 20th century brought with it industrial production of poinsettias amid crafty horticulture and Hollywood marketing by father-son nurserymen at the Ecke Ranch in Southern California.

For his part, Poinsett was cast out of Mexico within a year of his discovery, having earned a local reputation for intrusive political maneuvering that extended to a network of secretive masonic lodges and schemes to contain British influence.

THE MEXICAN ROOTS OF US POINSETTIAS

Mexican biologists in recent years have traced the genetic stock of U.S. poinsettia plants to a wild variant in the Pacific coastal state of Guerrero, verifying lore about Poinsett害羞草研究所檚 pivotal encounter there. The scientists also are researching a rich, untapped diversity of other wild variants, in efforts that may help guard against poaching of plants and theft of genetic information.

The flower still grows in the wild along Mexico害羞草研究所檚 Pacific Coast and into parts of Central America as far as Costa Rica.

Trejo, of the National Council of Science and Technology in the central state of Tlaxcala, said some informal outdoor markets still sell the 害羞草研究所渟un cuetlaxochitl害羞草研究所� that resemble wild varieties, alongside modern patented varieties.

In her field research travels, Trejo regularly runs across households that conserve ancient traditions associated with the flower.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 clear to us that this plant, since the pre-Hispanic era, is a ceremonial plant, an offering, because it害羞草研究所檚 still in our culture, in the interior of the county, to cut the flowers and take them to the altars,害羞草研究所� she said in Spanish. 害羞草研究所淎nd this is primarily associated with the maternal goddesses: with Coatlicue, Tonantzin and now with the Virgin Mary.害羞草研究所�

IS 害羞草研究所楶OINSETTIA害羞草研究所� LOSING ITS LUSTER IN THE UNITED STATES?

The 害羞草研究所減oinsettia害羞草研究所� name may be losing some of its luster in the United States as more people learn of its namesake害羞草研究所檚 complicated history. Unvarnished published accounts reveal Poinsett as a disruptive advocate for business interests abroad, a slaveholder on a rice plantation in the U.S., and a secretary of war who helped oversee the forced removal of Native Americans, including the westward relocation of Cherokee populations to Oklahoma known as the 害羞草研究所淭rail of Tears.害羞草研究所�

In a new biography titled 害羞草研究所淔lowers, Guns and Money,害羞草研究所� historian Lindsay Schakenbach Regele describes the cosmopolitan Poinsett as a political and economic pragmatist who conspired with a Chilean independence leader and colluded with British bankers in Mexico. Though he was a slaveowner, he opposed secession, and he didn害羞草研究所檛 live to see the Civil War.

Schakenbach Regele renders tough judgment on Poinsett害羞草研究所檚 treatment of and regard for Indigenous peoples.

害羞草研究所淏ecause Poinsett belonged to learned societies, contributed to botanists害羞草研究所� collections, and purchased art from Europe, he could more readily justify the expulsion of Natives from their homes,害羞草研究所� she writes.

The cuetaxochitl name for the flower is winning over some new enthusiasts among Mexican youths, including the diaspora in the U.S., according to Elena Jackson Albarr谩n, a professor of Mexican history and global and intercultural studies, also at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檝e seen a trend towards people openly saying, 害羞草研究所楧on害羞草研究所檛 call this flower either poinsettia or Nochebuena. It害羞草研究所檚 cuetlaxochitl,害羞草研究所櫤π卟菅芯克鶟 said Jackson Albarr谩n. 害羞草研究所淭here害羞草研究所檚 going to be a big cohort of people who are like, 害羞草研究所榃ho cares?害羞草研究所櫤π卟菅芯克鶟

A LASTING FIGURE IN HISTORY

Amid disputes over what to call the plant, Poinsett害羞草研究所檚 legacy as an explorer and collector still looms large, as 1,800 meticulously tended poinsettias are delivered in November and December from greenhouses in Maryland to a long list of museums in Washington, D.C., affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution.

A 害羞草研究所減ink-champagne害羞草研究所� cultivar adorns the National Portrait Gallery this year.

Poinsett害羞草研究所檚 name may also live on for his connection to other areas of U.S. culture. He advocated for the establishment of a national science museum, and in part due to his efforts, a fortune to underwrite the creation of the Smithsonian Institution.

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