The Dutch were awfully fond of flowers.
In the 1600s, many a Dutch painter rendered blooms and blossoms in oil colour upon linen canvases. One thing that is little focused on, though, is the fact that these featured flowers come from all over the globe.
Take, for example, the dahlia.
A member of the Asteraceae family (the same family that daisies and sunflowers belong to), the dahlia comes from Mesoamerica, primarily Mexico. In the past, when the Aztecs were thriving, these flowers, the Acocotli (as it was once known), were used for a variety of things, such as medicine and dye, or as a source of food, (apparently the tuberous roots were quite nice as well as being in possession of antibiotic properties). The stems of one variation of the species were even used to carry water.
And then in the 16th century, Spanish Conquistadors landed in Mexico, bringing with them one Francisco Hernandez, who had been sent by King Philip II to study the natural resources of this new land. However, dahlias remained absent and obscure from Europe until 1781, when a French explorer stumbled upon them whilst insect hunting in Oaxaca. From there they made their way to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Madrid, Spain.
Even then they weren’t of major interest until 1872 when a shipment of dahlias heading from Mexico to Holland had been delayed by storms, quite unexpectedly. When the shipment arrived in Holland, it was discovered that all samples had withered, save for one which eventually sprouted into a gorgeous red flower, and thus interest in it sprouted once again.
Surprisingly, another Mexican flower is the marigold (and for reasons known only to God and whoever first decided this, this flower is known as the African marigold).
A multi-use plant, the marigold can repel insects from vegetables and other produce (though its probably for the best that these plants don’t go anywhere near legumes given that the roots are a little poisonous), and they can be used as a flavouring for foods and tabaco, and the petals can be used as a food colourant as they are rich in pigments. And in South Africa, these plants, which are also part of the Asteraceae family, are used to reclaim disturbed (damaged) land. It is an herb known as poor man’s saffron, it is a tea, and it is an antiseptic, it is antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-spasmodic and it is anti-fungal. It is a sedative as well. In fact, this plant could, according to some sources, the Aztecs used the marigolds to treat anything from hiccups to aiding people struck by lightning (I don’t know how but I do have questions).
Aside from the more modern uses of the flower there is one major, more ancient use that marigolds have: they have long been used as sacrifices and offerings in numerous religions, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christianity, which is where they get their names, Mary’s gold, marigold, this came about because off the tendency to use them in place of coins in offerings to the Virgin Mary in Spanish churches (it was originally called the Cempasúchil)
Despite their association with India (and their Christian-based names) they had importance in Aztec culture, they were associated with sun, and they were believed to have resurrective abilities. Even today they are still important in Mexico, they are associated with death and are still used as symbols and decorations in Dia de los Muertos/ Dia de Muartos/Day of the Dead celebrations.
Another Mexican plant with roots in Christian traditions in the Christmasy Poinsettia. The Cuetlaxochit was once a medicinal plant, with its sap often being used by the Aztecs to treat fevers. It was, like the marigold and the dahlia, also used for dyes and it once captured the eye of the last Aztec emperor, Montezuma.
And then in the 17th century, Franciscan monks began to use the poinsettia as decoration in nativity scenes. This, and the legend of Pepita and the “Flowers of the Holy Night”, brought the leafy plant into Christmas tradition. According to the story, Pepita was a little girl who, one Christmas, was heading to church to visit the nativity scene, though she had nought to gift to baby Jesus, so in desperation she grabbed some weeds from the side of the road, though she felt sad and embarrassed by her paltry gift, leaving her cousin to comfort her by reminding her that even the smallest gift gifted with love would be accepted in the eyes of Christ. So Pepita entered the church and presented her bouquet to the nativity baby Jesus, and she, along with everyone else, were stunned when the weeds transformed into beautiful red flowers. And thus, they were sealed into Christmas tradition.
In the 1800s, the plant gained global holiday appreciation when the first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, John Poinsett, became enchanted with the red-leaved shrub, which he brought home to his greenhouse for cultivation. He bgan gifting them to friends at Christmas which soon became a tradition. Later the plant was named for the man.
Today however, few people actually think of this plant when they think of Mexico at all, really most people simply think of cacti.
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