Cuetlaxochitl: The Poinsettia’s Original Name

Before it became a ubiquitous holiday decoration, the vibrant plant known globally as the poinsettia had an older identity rooted in the Nahuatl language of the Aztec people: cuetlaxochitl. Long before it was a holiday decoration, this plant held deep spiritual significance and was woven into the fabric of indigenous life in its native Mexico. Understanding its journey from a sacred Aztec emblem to a seasonal commodity reveals a complex history.

Aztec Significance of Cuetlaxochitl

The cuetlaxochitl was deeply embedded in Aztec culture, where it was regarded as a divine gift. Its name is believed to mean “mortal flower,” a poetic reference to its life cycle and a reminder of the transient nature of life. This interpretation connected the plant to concepts of purity, making it a powerful symbol within Aztec cosmology.

The plant’s brilliant red bracts held symbolic weight for the Aztecs, who associated the color with blood and sacrifice. This linked the cuetlaxochitl to rituals honoring fallen warriors. The plant was also used to adorn temples during the winter solstice as an offering to celebrate the birth of Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec god of the sun and war.

The plant bloomed naturally during the winter solstice, signifying the promise of a new cycle of life and the return of the sun. Its appearance during the darkest time of the year was an emblem of resilience and renewal. The cuetlaxochitl was a physical manifestation of Aztec beliefs about life, death, and rebirth.

Reverence for cuetlaxochitl extended to the highest levels of Aztec society. The last Aztec ruler, Montezuma, was so captivated by the plant that he had caravans deliver them from their native lower elevations to his palaces in the capital, Teotihuacan. This act demonstrates the high value placed upon the flower for both its symbolic meaning and beauty.

The Journey from Cuetlaxochitl to Poinsettia

The transformation of the cuetlaxochitl’s identity began with the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. Franciscan friars incorporated the plant into 17th-century Christmas processions, renaming it “Flor de Nochebuena,” or “Flower of the Holy Night.” The plant remained largely unknown outside of Mexico for centuries, however, until its introduction to the United States.

The plant’s history changed in the 1820s with the arrival of Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States Minister to Mexico. An amateur botanist, Poinsett encountered the red-leafed shrub in 1828 while visiting the Taxco region. He took cuttings from the plant and sent them to his greenhouses in South Carolina for propagation.

Poinsett shared the plant, first known in the U.S. as the “Mexican fire plant,” with friends and botanical gardens. It was exhibited in Philadelphia in 1829, where botanist Robert Buist began to cultivate and sell it. Buist gave it the name “Euphorbia Poinsettia” to honor Poinsett, and the name “poinsettia” quickly caught on with the public.

Transformation into a Holiday Symbol

The poinsettia’s association with Christmas began with a 16th-century Mexican legend about a poor girl named Pepita. Having no gift for the baby Jesus on Christmas Eve, she gathered weeds from the roadside. When she placed her offering at the church altar, the weeds burst into brilliant red blooms, which became known as “Flores de Noche Buena,” or Flowers of the Holy Night.

While this folklore connected the plant to Christmas in Mexico, its status as a holiday symbol in the United States is more recent, thanks to the Ecke family in California. In the early 20th century, Paul Ecke Sr. began commercially cultivating poinsettias. His son, Paul Ecke Jr., later promoted them as the definitive Christmas plant.

The Ecke family developed grafting techniques that produced the fuller, more compact plants familiar today. In the mid-20th century, Paul Ecke Jr. launched a marketing campaign, providing plants for free to television stations for holiday specials like Bob Hope’s Christmas shows and “The Tonight Show.” This strategy ensured they appeared in American homes throughout the holiday season, cementing the poinsettia’s image as a part of Christmas decor.

Wild Ancestor Versus Modern Cultivar

The poinsettias sold today bear little resemblance to their wild ancestor, Euphorbia pulcherrima. In its native habitat in Mexico and Guatemala, the wild cuetlaxochitl is a lanky shrub or small tree that can grow up to 15 feet tall. It has a much more open and scraggly form than the compact plants sold for holiday decoration.

Modern poinsettias are the result of hybridization and specialized cultivation techniques. In the 1950s, breeders developed cultivars with stronger stems, better leaf retention, and a more compact growth habit. These efforts also produced a diversity of bract colors beyond red, including pink, white, orange, cream, and marbled varieties.

The poinsettia’s colors come not from petals but from modified leaves called bracts. To develop this color, the plants require photoperiodism: at least 14 hours of uninterrupted darkness each night for several weeks. Horticulturalists manipulate this process to ensure the plants are in full color for the holiday market.

Traditional Uses Beyond Ornamentation

Long before it was cherished for its looks, the cuetlaxochitl served practical purposes for the Aztecs. The plant’s colorful bracts were a source of reddish or purple dyes used for coloring textiles and cosmetic products.

The plant also had applications in traditional medicine. The milky white sap, or latex, from broken stems was used as a folk remedy. The Aztecs prepared a medicine from this latex to reduce fevers and sometimes applied it topically to stimulate circulation or treat skin infections.

While these medicinal uses were common in pre-Columbian times, the plant is now regarded as ornamental. The belief that the plant is highly toxic is a misconception. While the sap can cause mild skin irritation and ingesting the leaves might cause an upset stomach, it is not dangerous.