The winter holidays are the poinsettia’s time to shine. Today, National Poinsettia Day marks the anniversary of the death of Joel Roberts Poinsett, the physician and botanist who first introduced the colorful plant to the United States in 1828. He discovered the plant while he was serving as the first US ambassador to Mexico, the plant’s native country, where Aztecs once used it to produce red dye. According to legend, the poinsettia’s association with Christmas began in 16th-century Mexico, where a little girl—too poor to buy a gift—gathered weeds from the roadside and placed them in front of a church altar. They eventually produced lovely red leaves alongside the green ones, and the poinsettia plant was on its way to becoming a Christmas tradition.
The story of the poinsettia
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
Winterpret on ice
-
Welcome to the Year of the Pig
-
Inside the Oculus
-
Happy Independence Day!
-
Santorini through the clouds
-
The birth of Bauhaus
-
This park is Superkilen
-
Up on the glacier
-
Let s get lost
-
Taking the scenic route
-
This grizzly has Napping Day down
-
Celebrating a Paris landmark
-
A step toward freedom
-
Nesting season for the leatherbacks
-
A picture-perfect day on Trillium
-
Groovy!
-
Make your way up a picturesque passageway of Chefchaouen
-
Who s there? The largest owl in the world
-
Celebrating Take Your Dog to Work Day
-
Celebrating Mexico in a Cultural Capital