![]() The finicky, tropical plant “grew abundantly” under Poinsett’s careful green thumb…” As early as 1826, Poinsett brought back the bright green and red, star-shaped plant that Mexicans called the “fire plant,” “painted leaf,” or “Flor de Noche Buena” (The Flower of the Holy Night) in reference to its legendary first bloom on Christmas Eve. “Throughout his world travels, Poinsett collected plant specimens that he cultivated in his private South Carolina greenhouses. While visiting Taxco, he saw the native cuetlaxochitl growing wild on hillsides.Īccording to History, Art and Archives of the U.S. Cuetlaxochitls Journey To The United Statesĭoctor Joel Poinsett was a congressman and a co-founder of the Smithsonian Institution and the first U.S. Poinsettia Legends Sophia Crownfield, 1937. Additionally they made red and purple dyes from the plants for textiles and crafts. The plant is also a well-guarded women’s medicine. They used the plant for poultices to treat skin diseases Maestra Grace writes. From the milky white sap they made medicines to control fever. Local people had many medicinal uses for the cuextlaxochitl. ![]() It also represents the blood of warriors killed in battle and heralded the return of those warriors to this world as hummingbirds…”Īccording to oral tradition the flower was initially white in color, “…but that after the killing of the people of Taxco by the Mexika, the leaves of the cuetlaxochitl, at their next blooming, turned red.” Huitzilopochtli represents the sacred power related to the sun and the cuetlaxochitl’s red leaves symbolize the sacred energy of the life force of blood. Temples were adorned with this elegant and dignified plant as its flowering coincided with the date of the birth of Huitzilopochtli, Left-Handed Hummingbird, on the winter solstice. “The cuetlaxochitl was honored as a divine gift in acknowledgement that it had been given to humanity to help re-birth the light on Mother Earth. Traditional Mexican Medicine Practitioner and Historian, Maestra Grace explains early legends: Their original Nahuatl name is cuetlaxochitl. Aztecs cultivated the native flowers long before European colonization. The story behind the red blossoms is rich in history and poinsettia legends. Aztecs Prized The Red Blossoms Of Cuetlaxochitl
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