poinsettia
Americannoun
-
poinsettias
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of poinsettia
1830–40; < New Latin, named after J. R. Poinsett (1799–1851), American minister to Mexico, who discovered the plant there in 1828; see -ia
Explanation
The bright red potted plants you see everywhere at Christmastime are called poinsettias. This plant is so commonly associated with the holiday that it's also known as Christmas Star. Poinsettias come from Mexico, and they get their name from Joel Roberts Poinsett, the United States' First Minister to Mexico in the 1820s. Besides unsuccessfully attempting to acquire new U.S. territory from Mexico, Poinsett was an amateur botanist who admired the brilliant red and green Flor de Nochebuena, or Christmas Eve flowers. His success lay in introducing the poinsettia to North America.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
For many of us, our first foray into foliage begins at Christmas when we are gifted a poinsettia.
From BBC ● Jan. 14, 2026
He moved the family business to Encinitas, where he bought 67 acres near the railroad and Interstate 5 and planted so many patented poinsettia plants that passersby were treated to crimson waves come November.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 20, 2025
Ecke started growing and selling his poinsettias in a field on Sunset Boulevard but moved to Encinitas around 1923, where Ecke Ranch became the largest poinsettia producer in the world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 2, 2025
The first was a photo of a guitar next to a fire and Christmas poinsettia.
From New York Times ● Dec. 28, 2023
The beautiful draperies were of paper, printed with big, red poinsettia blossoms.
From "Lupita Mañana" by Patricia Beatty
To keep them lasting longer than your New Years resolutions, you should add plant food to your poinsettias each month, Adam says.
From BBC ● Jan. 14, 2026
Cathy Penrod said in the days before her death, her cousin had placed poinsettias on the graves of William and Polly Penrod’s sixth generation descendants — her generation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 22, 2025
The poinsettias we buy today are significantly different from the tall, gangly plants botanist Joel Roberts Poinsett discovered in Mexico in 1825, after he became that country’s first U.S. ambassador.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 20, 2025
Your poinsettias will do fine in the house or on a sheltered porch, as long as they don’t experience big temperature swings like sitting next to a heater.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 20, 2025
Now, while she was listening for the doorbell, she made a final tour, pausing to dispose of a speck of lint or alter an arrangement of Christmas poinsettias.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
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