Plants of Christmas

At Everleaf, we talk a lot about the world’s most wonderful plants. That’s a pretty broad term - we happen to think there are a lot of wonderful plants out there! Some are particularly notable at this time of year though, famed for their beauty, uses or symbolism, with stories going back thousands of years in some cases. 

Here are five of our favourites, with some planty facts to go with them!

Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima):

  • The red "leaves" of this Christmas pot-plant favourite aren’t actually leaves or petals, but bracts that surround the tiny flowers. 

  • They turn red through a process of photoperiodism - long, dark nights and short bright days trigger them to change colour. 

  • They’re native to Mexico, where the Aztecs historically used the bracts to create a red dye for clothes and cosmetics. 

  • They’re named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico and an amateur botanist, who sent plants home in the 1800s, starting a Christmas trend that really took off in the early 1900s.

Holly (Ilex):

  • Holly leaves aren’t always prickly. Spikes are a defensive adaptation, so where they aren’t at risk of grazing (above 2m for example), the leaves can be smooth-sided. 

  • Holly has been sacred in many cultures. Druids believed that the evergreen leaves were a symbol of eternal life and brought branches indoors during winter to provide shelter for sprites. Ancient Romans used it to decorate their homes during the festival of Saturnalia (during December), and the Celts celebrated the Holly King, who ruled over the darker half of the year, battling the Oak King who ruled during the lighter half. 

  • The plants are dioecious - separate male and female plants, so you’ll only see berries on the female trees.

Mistletoe (Viscum):

  • Mistletoe is hemi-parasitic, drawing nutrients from a host tree, but is also able to photosynthesise as well. 

  • It was celebrated by Celts as a divine plant, remaining green in winter, and able to grow in the air without roots - suspended between worlds. In Norse mythology, it was Baldur’s achilles heel - used by Loki to kill him (his mother’s tears became its white berries).

  • Kissing under the mistletoe was made popular in Victorian times, and traditionally a berry was taken for each kiss until they were all gone, at which point the kissing had to stop!

Frankincense (Boswellia):

  • Frankincense is the dried sap of the Boswellia tree, collected by cutting the bark and picking off the resulting resin once it’s hardened. As with lots of resinous plants, this is a wound-healing mechanism to save water in the desert where it grows. 

  • When burned, this resin releases a powerful, clean, and pine-like aroma. It has been used throughout history in religious ceremonies, where it’s said to be divine and pure in character.

  • The ancient Egyptians used the resin during the embalming process to clean the body, as well as in cosmetics. 

Christmas Rose (Helleborus niger):

  • Not a rose at all (actually part of the buttercup family), this is prized for the beautiful white flowers that bloom throughout winter (Christmas Day if you’re lucky!).

  • The Legend of Madelon tells the story of a shepherdess who couldn’t find a gift to bring to Bethlehem. She sat down and cried, at which point an angel took pity on her and turned the tears into white flowers she could pick. 

  • Whilst it’s very toxic (it’s not eaten by animals in winter, even though there’s little other food around), the ancient Greeks valued it greatly as a medicinal plant, considering it a cure for madness amongst other things. 

  • For more Hellebore facts, you might be able to track down a copy of the book “Hellebores”, written by our Head of Botany, Brian Mathew!