The cultivation of poinsettias dates back to the Aztec Empire in Mexico 500 years ago.
Among Nahuatl-speaking communities of Mexico, this plant is known as cuetlaxochitl, meaning "flower that withers." It is an apt description of the thin red leaves on wild varieties of the plant that can grow to heights above 10 feet.
Year-end holiday markets in Latin America brim with the potted plant known in Spanish as the "flor de Nochebuena", or "flower of Christmas Eve," which is entwined with celebrations of the night before Christmas.
The "Nochebueno" name is traced to early Franciscan friars who arrived from Spain in the 16h century. Spaniards once called it scarlet cloth.
Additional nicknames abound: "Santa Catarina" in Mexico; "estrella federal," or "federal star," in Argentina; ""penacho de Incan," or "headdress," in Peru.
Reckon I'll stick with poinsettia.
--Cootettia
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