Joel Roberts Poinsett



Personal details
Born: Joel Roberts Poinsett; March 2, 1779; Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
Died; December 12, 1851 (aged 72); Stateburg, South Carolina, U.S.
Political party: Democratic
Education: University of Edinburgh; Royal Military Academy, Woolwich

Joel Roberts Poinsett (March 2, 1779 – December 12, 1851) was an American physician, diplomat and botanist.

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Political career

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First Minister to Mexico



The poinsettia, which takes its name from Poinsett.

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After visiting an area south of Mexico City near Taxco de Alarcón, Poinsett saw what later became known in the United States as the poinsettia. (In Mexico it is called Flor de Nochebuena, Christmas Eve flower, or Catarina). Poinsett, an avid amateur botanist, sent samples of the plant to the United States, and by 1836 the plant was widely known as the "poinsettia". Also a species of Mexican lizard, Sceloporus poinsettii, is named in Poinsett's honor.

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