Does the name Joel Roberts Poinsett mean anything to you? It’s a pretty good guess that he had something to do with what is now a Christmas season staple – the poinsettia. Poinsett was from South Carolina and could definitely be considered a polymath - a person of wide-ranging knowledge or learning. He had traveled extensively in Europe, Asia and South America and was the confidant of many of the world’s leaders. He served in the South Carolina House of Representatives. As well as being a diplomat, he was also a physician and a botanist.

It was as a botanist where he became aware of and championed the plant with red and green leaves he saw growing in the wild in Mexico where it was called Flor de Nochebuena, Christmas Eve flower, or Catarina. Poinsett sent samples of the plant to his greenhouses in South Carolina and their popularity soon spread.

In the wild poinsettias are shrubs or small trees. We see that here in Fillmore with the shrubbery gracing the Wayfarer’s Chapel on Central and 3rd Street.

Now you can share a bit of history with your own poinsettia purchased from the Fillmore Historical Museum. The Museum has been selling poinsettias as a fundraiser for over a decade. This year is no exception. You can order beautiful red poinsettias for $15 each and be able to pick them up at the Museum on December 7. Use the form below and mail or drop off at the Museum or order on our Website at https://www.fillmorehistoricalmuseum.org/poinsettia-sale.