In news reports at the time, it was described as “the showiest flower to yet be seen” and praised for having “the most brilliant scarlet ever produced in the vegetable or mineral kingdom.”īy the end of the 19th century, nurserymen were growing and distributing poinsettias for ~$0.25 ($8 today) at local markets. The plant - which eventually became known to Westerners as the “poinsettia” - made its public American debut at a flower show in Philadelphia and quickly became the talk of the town. While there, he failed in an attempt to purchase Texas and became a persona non grata for meddling in the country’s internal affairs.īut on a trip to the Southern town of Taxco in 1828, just before he was he recalled, he encountered the flor de Nochebuena and was so struck by it that he shipped specimens back to the US. Joel Poinsett, a wealthy Southern Unionist and slave owner, was appointed as the first US minister to Mexico. One of the first-known taxonomic illustrations of the poinsettia (Curtis’s Botanical Magazine v.63 1836)įor the next few centuries, the plant was cultivated and celebrated in Mexico - yet it remained obscure to the rest of the world. The plant’s brilliant red bracts - which are leaves, not flowers - were so revered by the Aztec emperor Montezuma that thousands of them were transported to the high-altitude capital of Tenochtitlan each winter.Īfter Spain colonized Mexico, Franciscan monks dubbed the plant flor de Nochebuena (“Flower of the Blessed Night”) and began to showcase it in annual Christmas processions. Indigenous to Southern Mexico, the poinsettia (or cuetlaxochitl) was first used by 14th-century Nahua people for dye and medicinal purposes. To find out, The Hustle talked to poinsettia growers, breeders, salespeople, and historians. How did this Mexican shrub become America’s best-selling holiday plant? It’s one of the most popular plants in the world, with annual sales of ~90m units and a global retail impact of nearly $1B.īut behind the beautiful, blood-red bracts of the poinsettia, there’s a story rife with geopolitics, patent wars, a dethroned monopoly, and complex supply chains. line in blue is average lows.The poinsettia plant is a ubiquitous Christmas staple.Įvery year, just after Thanksgiving, it emerges en masse at nurseries, big-box retailers, fundraisers, and holiday parties.
Apopka is often referred to as the "Indoor Foliage Capital of the World".
Apopka is a Native American word for "Potato eating place". It is part of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 41,542 at the 2010 census, up from 26,969 at the 2000 U.S.
Apopka is also known as: Orange County / Apopka city.Īnd some of the notable people born here have been: James McKnight (american football player), Rogers Beckett (american football player), Andrea Dean Van Scoyoc (actor), Brandon Meriweather (american football player), and Kyle Wilber (american football player).Īnd featured attractions of Apopka: Apopka Seaboard Air Line Railway Depot, Mitchill-Tibbetts House, Waite-Davis House, Ryan & Company Lumber Yard, and Carroll Building.Īpopka is represented by Mayor Joe Kilsheimer.Īpopka is a city in Orange County, Florida.