National Poinsettia Day celebrates popular holiday plant

The poinsettia is a showy plant popular around the Christmas holidays as a gift or decoration because of its bright red and green foliage.

National Poinsettia (pronounced “poin·set·tia”) Day was proclaimed as Dec. 12 through a resolution, House Resolution 471 of the 107th Congress, in 2002 by the United States House of Representatives.

Poinsettias are native to Mexico where they grow as trees reaching up to 12 feet tall with leaves measuring 6 to 8 inches across. The red “flowers” of the poinsettia are correctly called bracts, or modified leaves, which show up around December.

The legendary association of the poinsettia with Christmas can be traced to the story of a poor girl who had only a bundle of weeds to present to Jesus as a gift to honor his birth, however, when she gave them to him, the weeds bloomed into the showy red and green plant that is popular today. Symbolically, the red of the poinsettia is said to represent the blood of Christ while the large, star-shaped leaves are associated with the Star of Bethlehem.

According to the proclamation, the poinsettia was introduced to the United States by the Dr. Joel Roberts Poinsett, the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, between 1825 and 1829. Dr. Poinsett was an amateur botanist who is said to have found the plant so striking he sent clippings back to his plantation in the United States.

Congress chose Dec. 12 as National Poinsettia Day to honor Dr. Poinsett’s death on that day in 1851.

Today’s thriving poinsettia industry came about when Paul Ecke Jr., a California rancher, discovered the technique that would cause seedlings to branch, and it was he and his father who began promoting the plant as an attractive holiday decoration, according to the Poinsettia Day website.

Although the most popular color for the poinsettia is red, it is available in more than 100 varieties. According to USDA statistics, sale of poinsettias topped $144 million in 2013 and accounted for 23 percent of all flowering plant sales.

Poinsettias are annual plants and caring for them is simple.

“They don’t like their feet to be wet,” said Jacque Greene of Kelly’s Flowers & Gifts.

Allow the plant to dry out completely between waterings and then water the plant well and allow all the excess water to drain before setting it back in place. Greene also said they don’t like warm drafts and to avoid putting them directly in front of forced air vents.

Poinsettias are not poisonous to pets, according to Dr. Amy Wilson DVM at the Creston Veterinary Clinic, adding that more than anything, they are a mild irritant.

“The leaves and petals might be irritating to the mouth and the lining of the stomach,” Wilson said. “Most times you might see drooling or salivation or vomiting and diarrhea.”

However, Wilson suggest contacting a vet for advice if a pet owner believes the plant may have been ingested. She also recommends withholding food and water for 12 hours if the animal develops vomiting and diarrhea to give the symptoms time to subside.

National Poinsettia Day may be an obscure holiday not many people know about, but the plant it honors is anything but obscure.