The son of a French physician, Mr. Poinsett was
appointed as the first United States Ambassador
to Mexico (1825-1829) by President Madison.
He had attended medical school himself, but his
real love in the scientific field was botany.

Dr. Poinsett later founded the institution which
we know today as the Smithsonian Institution.

Dr. Poinsett maintained his own hothouses on
his Greenville, South Carolina plantations,
and while visiting the Taxco area in 1828,
he became enchanted by the brilliant red
blooms he saw there.

He immediately sent some of the plants back
to South Carolina, where he began propagating
the plants and sending them to friends and
botanical gardens.

Among the recipients of Dr. Poinsett's work
was John Bartram of Philadelphia, who in turn
gave the plant over to another friend, Robert
Buist, a Pennsylvania nurseryman.

Mr. Buist is thought to be the first person
to have sold the plant under its botanical
name, Euphorbia pulcherrima.
"The most beautiful Euphorbia".

Though it is thought to have become known
by its more popular name of poinsettia around
1836, the origin of the name is quite clear.

"Legend Of The Poinsettia"


"The Story Of The Candy Cane"


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