Obscure Poinsettia Trivia

1. Poinsettias were introduced to America in 1825 by Ambassador Poinsett, the US ambassador to Mexico. What was ambassador Poinsett’s first name? Where was he born?

2. In the early 1900’s Paul Ecke produced America’s first crop of poinsettias for retail sale. Name the first cultivars used in commercial production.

3. Most poinsettias produced from the 1920’s to the 1960’s were descendants of a single seedling variety produced by Paul Ecke in 1923. Name that cultivar.

4. The Aztecs of Central Mexico cultivated the poinsettia long before the arrival of Europeans. What was the Aztec name for the poinsettia?

Answers to Trivia:

1. John Roberts; Charlston, South Carolina

2. True Red, Early Red, Saint Louis, Red Sport

3. Oak Leaf

4. Cuetaxochitle