Poinsettia's Origins, Namesake’s Checkered History Get New Attention
Voice of America
Producer Rosalva Cuaxospa walks amid her potted poinsettias in a greenhouse in the San Luis Tlaxialtemalco district of Mexico City, Dec. 14, 2023. Visitors look at a replica of the Lincoln Memorial adorned with different varieties of poinsettias on display at the Smithsonian's U.S. Botanical Garden, Dec. 16, 2023, in Washington.
Like Christmas trees, Santa and reindeer, the poinsettia has long been a ubiquitous symbol of the holiday season in the U.S. and across Europe.
A motorist drives past the CHS oil refinery Sept. 28, 2024, in McPherson, Kan. Pumpjacks operate in a milo field, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, near Hays, Kan.
FILE - Tuvalu, shown in this undated photo, is among Pacific atoll islands threatened with rising sea levels, according to a World Bank study released on Nov. 14, 2024. (Rising Nations Initiative via AP)
FILE - A pumpjack operates at dawn in a pasture, Sept. 30, 2024, near Hays, Kan.
Divers from National Geographic Pristine Seas measure the world’s largest coral colony in the Solomon Islands.
Samantha Harvey poses with the trophy and her book "Orbital" after winning the Booker Prize award 2024, in London, Nov. 12, 2024.
Ninawa Inu Pereira Nunes, President of the Federation of the Huni Kuin indigenous people in Brazil's state of Acre, gives an interview during the United Nations climate change conference COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan November 13, 2024.
FILE - This colorized electron microscope image released by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases on March 26, 2024, shows avian influenza A H5N1 virus particles (yellow), grown in Madin-Darby Canine Kidney epithelial cells (blue).
FILE - Lou Donaldson performs with Pat Bianchi on the organ at the Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, R.I., on Aug. 2, 2015. Donaldson died Nov. 9, 2024, at age 98.
Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan president, and Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, pose for a group photo at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Nov. 12, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan.
A drone view shows the ancient geoglyph of 'El Gigante de Tarapaca' placed on 'Unita' hill close to 'Huara' town area, in Atacama desert, Iquique, Chile, Oct. 28, 2024. A man walks on ‘Cerro Dragon' nature sanctuary dune while practicing sandboard with Iquique city in the background, at Atacama desert, Iquique, Chile, Oct. 29, 2024.
A 249-centimeter TCL QM-8 Q-Class Mini-LED QLED 4K HDR Smart TV is displayed at the Pepcom Holiday Spectacular event, in New York, Oct. 30, 2024. A 249-centimeter Samsung television, left, sits by others of various sizes on display at a Best Buy store in Dallas, Oct. 25, 2024.