Poinsettias don’t deserve poisonous persona

One of the most enduring — and false — myths of the holidays is that of the poisonous poinsettia. Probably no other plant on the planet has been more tested for toxicity and wrongly blamed for injury than the poinsettia.

The poisonous poinsettia myth is one of the most widely believed in the country. Poinsettias are not poisonous and are actually among the most benign of houseplants. Still, a poll conducted by the Society of American Florists revealed that 66 percent of those surveyed thought poinsettias were toxic.

The legend of the poisonous poinsettia traces back to 1919 when the toddler son of an American army officer stationed in Hawaii died from poisoning. The cause of death was incorrectly thought to be from eating a poinsettia leaf and a legend was born.

But that longstanding legend has been proven to be nothing more than a false alarm. According to Dr. Ward Upham, Kansas State University Extension horticulturist, “There are no poison problems with the poinsettia. There’s nothing there to hurt anyone. Some scientists go so far as to eat parts of the plants to show it’s not poisonous.”

An Ohio State University research study proved all parts of the plant are non-toxic. Combating the common myths, poison control centers across the country list the poinsettia as a non-poisonous plant.

“Somehow, when any rumor gets started, it tends to stick,” Upham said.

Poinsettias arrived in the U.S. in 1829 thanks to Joel Robert Poinsett, then the American ambassador to Mexico. He was so impressed with the brilliant red plant that he had some shipped to his South Carolina home, where they did very well.

Long before Ambassador Poinsett admired the plant, the early Aztecs of Mexico did too. The Aztecs called the poinsettia “cuetlaxochitle” and, in direct irony with its currently poisonous reputation, saw it as a symbol of purity. Legend holds that the last of the Aztec kings, Montezuma, had the plants brought by cart caravans to what is now Mexico City.

When the Aztec empire fell to Spanish conquistadors, Christmas replaced the Indian celebrations. So, the Aztec symbol of purity became the subject of a still-surviving Mexican legend about poinsettias. The legend’s details vary, but most horticulturalists agree with the following version.

On Christmas Eve long ago, a poor little Mexican girl desperately wanted a wonderful gift to lay at the nativity scene of her church. Unfortunately, she couldn’t afford a present. Trying to cheer her up, her cousin told her that even the most humble gift is acceptable. So, the little girl gathered a bouquet of weeds from the roadside.

As she entered the church and approached the altar, she forgot about the humbleness of her gift. In awe, she placed the bouquet at the Christ child figurine’s feet. And then a miracle occurred! Her insignificant weeds burst into brilliant bloom. From then on, those weeds were called the flowers of the holy night (la flor de noche buena or Christmas Eve flower). And, each year since then, they’ve always bloomed at Christmas time.

For more information about horticulture, nutrition, health, home and family development or 4-H and youth development programs, contact the Mat-Su/Copper River District office of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service at 745-3360. Visit online at uaf.edu/ces.