Blooming beneath RAINFOREST canopies are a decorative array of over 1,500 flowering plant species. Despite growing in a tropical region, one flower — the poinsettia — has become an iconic symbol of holiday cheer.
We’re ringing in the holiday season with a world-famous Christmas symbol: the poinsettia, or Euphorbia pulcherrima. How exactly did this RAINFOREST flower become synonymous with the winter holiday season? The poinsettia has a long history, beginning with the Aztecs, that eventually led it to be considered a symbol for Christmas.
More than just a holiday flower
- Poinsettias can grow up to 4.57 meters (15 feet) tall in their natural tropical habitat — mighty in comparison to their reputation as potted Christmas flowers.
- We call the poinsettia a flower, but the vibrant red petals are technically leaf bracts. There are over 100 varieties of poinsettia — and not all of them have red leaf bracts. Purple, pink, and white are among the array of poinsettia types.
- The Aztecs and Mayans used the poinsettia for its medicinal qualities. The sap was used to help mothers produce milk. Poinsettia roots were used as a snake bite remedy. To this day, some still boil the leaves as a remedy for gynecological issues.
- In the 16th century, missionaries from Europe began to use poinsettias (instead of holly) as Christmas decor in the tropics.
- Poinsettias grew in popularity — making their way across borders and into the United States. The star-arranged leaves led the plant to be rebranded as the “Christmas flower.” In 2021, poinsettia sales earned over $200 million.
Keeping Christmas cheer alive — in the wild
Though wild poinsettias are not yet classified as endangered, other popular holiday flowers, like orchids, are facing extinction due to unmitigated habitat loss. All 25,000 species of orchids in the Amazon are either threatened or endangered — and with nearly 2 million hectares of the Amazon rainforest lost each year, it’s critical that we take action before it's too late. In the new year, it’s time to turn over a new leaf and protect RAINFOREST plants.
