Ice Punch, Poinsettia.
That lovely plant you place in your home every December was once used as a fever cure! A Central America native, the plant flourished in areas of Southern Mexico long before Christianity came to the Western Hemisphere. The ancient Aztecs found it blooming in the tropical highlands during the very short days of winter and named it “Cuetlaxochitl.” Not decorative at the time, the Aztecs used the plant for practical purposes, as they did with many elements of nature. They extracted purple dye from it for use in cosmetics, and its milky white sap (latex) was used to treat fevers.
This plant would’ve remained a regional plant were it not for Joel Roberts Poinsett. The son of a French physician, Poinsett was appointed as the first US Ambassador to Mexico by President Madison. Poinsett had graduated from medical school, but was a dedicated (almost obsessive) botany-lover. (Mr. Poinsett founded the institution known today as the revered Smithsonian).
Ice Punch, Poinsettia.
That lovely plant you place in your home every December was once used as a fever cure! A Central America native, the plant flourished in areas of Southern Mexico long before Christianity came to the Western Hemisphere. The ancient Aztecs found it blooming in the tropical highlands during the very short days of winter and named it “Cuetlaxochitl.” Not decorative at the time, the Aztecs used the plant for practical purposes, as they did with many elements of nature. They extracted purple dye from it for use in cosmetics, and its milky white sap (latex) was used to treat fevers.
This plant would’ve remained a regional plant were it not for Joel Roberts Poinsett. The son of a French physician, Poinsett was appointed as the first US Ambassador to Mexico by President Madison. Poinsett had graduated from medical school, but was a dedicated (almost obsessive) botany-lover. (Mr. Poinsett founded the institution known today as the revered Smithsonian).