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The holiday's connection to the poinsettia originated with a Mexican legend. With nothing to give to the Christ Child, a youngster picked a bouquet of weeds as an offering. As the gift was presented, the weeds transformed into brilliant red blooms. Since then, the plant is known in Mexico as Flores de Noche Buena (Flowers of the Holy Night), or just nochebuena for short. The poinsettia's red "flowers" aren't actual flowers. They're bracts (modified leaves), and the little yellow centers are the flowers. Regardless, the plants have enchanted people for centuries. Aztecs used them for dyes and as medicine. The first U.S. Ambassador to
Mexico, Joel Roberts Pointsett, is credited with bringing cuttings from the plant back to his home in South Carolina in the late 1820s, where it flourished in his greenhouse. The poinsettia was named after him. The festive poinsettia has a particularly toxic urban legend attached to its rich red leaves. Since the poisoning of a child in 1919 was falsely attributed to the plant, it's been widely assumed that the poinsettia is poisonous to ingest. Bitter and not particularly tasty, yes. But you can take it off that poison list now and enjoy it in every corner of your house during the holiday season.
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