If Christmas stylesetters were asked to name the most celebrated seasonal flower, most would readily pinpoint the poinsettia. The hardy, pointy-leafed blooming plant often festoons Charleston mantels and entryways in its signature eye-popping holiday red.

Still, many may not be able to track the origins of the poinsettia’s enduring popularity in this country to the Holy City — and what that journey can tell us about how America’s early leaders and how they leveraged their accelerating purchase on the world stage.

‘The poinsettia reimagined’

When it comes to the poinsettia, the clue is in the name, or namesake as the case may be. That is Joel Roberts Poinsett, the Charleston native who was an antebellum confidant of Andrew Jackson and former member of the South Carolina Legislature. He i

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