- Title: Christmas poinsettias are big business for Mexico
- Date: 5th December 2017
- Summary: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (RECENT) (REUTERS) ANGEL OF INDEPENDENCE MONUMENT WITH POINSETTIAS PLACED AROUND THE BASE VARIOUS OF POINSETTIA PLANTS SEEN BELOW MONUMENT IN FORMATION IN THE SHAPE OF RED STARS IN WHITE BACKGROUND PEOPLE BUYING POINSETTIAS MAN SELLING POINSETTIA PLANTS SIGN SHOWING PRICE OF PLANTS FLOWERS BEING SOLD WOMAN SELLING FLOWERS VARIOUS OF POINSETTIA PLANTS ON
- Embargoed: 19th December 2017 20:23
- Keywords: traditional Christmas plants Mexico-grown poinsettias plant hot climates Mexico festive season Christmas
- Location: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
- City: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
- Country: Mexico
- Topics: Human Interest / Brights / Odd News,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA0017AN3PS3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Mexico will produce and market around 16 million poinsettia or "Nochebuena" (Christmas Eve) plants, known for their large, red colourful petals, this Christmas season.
The flower, which originated in Mexico, adorns churches, squares and avenues around its native country, but also throughout much of the world.
Its original name is Cuetlaxochitl - in the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs - meaning flower of petals resistant as leather. Although it originated in Mexico, in the rest of the world it's known as the poinsettia.
Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first U.S. ambassador to Mexico, is thought to have visited Taxco, in Guerrero state, on a diplomatic mission in 1830 and was captivated by the flower's beauty. He took some plants back to his native South Carolina, where he began to cultivate them, hence the name, poinsettia.
In Mexico, it's known as Nochebuena (Christmas Eve), because it reaches its magnificence during Christmas, thriving in a mixture of crisp and sunny weather. There are a number of varieties with genetic modifications, ranging in size and colour.
This Christmas, Mexico's agriculture ministry SAGARPA, plans to produce and market around 16 million plants from the states of Morelos, Michoacan and Puebla, as well as Mexico City.
In 2014, exports of this plant reached $1.2 million dollars. The main destinations were the United States, Canada, Nicaragua, Guatemala and South Korea. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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