Birth flower for December
The poinsettia is not technically a flower — its vivid red 'petals' are actually modified leaves called bracts, and the true flowers are the small yellow clusters at the center. Native to Mexico, where it grows as a large shrub, the poinsettia was introduced to the United States in 1825 by Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. It became associated with Christmas through a Mexican legend about a poor child who could only offer weeds at a church altar, which miraculously transformed into brilliant red flowers. Today, poinsettias account for roughly a quarter of all flowering potted plant sales in the United States, nearly all of them sold in the six weeks before Christmas.
Why Poinsettia for December?
The poinsettia became December's birth flower because its peak season coincides exactly with Christmas. The plant's association with the holiday began in 16th-century Mexico with the legend of Pepita, a poor girl whose humble roadside weeds miraculously transformed into brilliant red flowers on Christmas Eve. Joel Poinsett brought the plant to the United States in 1825, and its December dominance was assured.