12/25/2015

Stalking The Wilds Of Mexico For A Christmas Classic

12:17 minutes

Stalking the Wild Poinsettia: Jim Faust & Emily Wood in a canyon of wild poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) in Jalisco, Mexico. Photo by Mark E. Olson
Stalking the wild poinsettia: Jim Faust & Emily Wood in a canyon of wild poinsettias (“Euphorbia pulcherrima”) in Jalisco, Mexico. Photo by Mark E. Olson

Clemson University floriculturist Jim Faust arrived in Manzanillo, Mexico, with an unusual mission: to stalk a population of wild poinsettias growing in their native habitat. His journey began with a man at the airport holding a sign with the word Euphorbia (the genus of the poinsettia plant.) In this interview, Faust talks about his trip into a canyon in Jalisco. And he reviews the long history of the iconic holiday plant, which may first have been cultivated in the botanical gardens of the Aztecs, before being brought to the U.S. in the 1800s by a Southern diplomat named Joel Roberts Poinsett.

Clemson University students and poinsettias. Photo by Ken Scar, Clemson
Clemson University students and poinsettias. Photo by Ken Scar, Clemson

Segment Guests

Jim Faust

Jim Faust is an associate professor of floriculture physiology at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina.

Meet the Producer

About Christopher Intagliata

Christopher Intagliata was Science Friday’s senior producer. He once served as a prop in an optical illusion and speaks passable Ira Flatowese.

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