poinsettia
Americannoun
noun
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.
For many of us, our first foray into foliage begins at Christmas when we are gifted a poinsettia.
From BBC • Jan. 14, 2026
With sales like that, no wonder poinsettia promoters have been trying for decades to develop colors and varieties people will buy year-round.
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
He even donates a poinsettia for the garden when we're ready to plant.
From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
