By Linda St.Cyr
Mexico is a country known for its beauty and wonder. Many like to take trips to relax or to learn about an incredible culture. By visiting any of Mexico's open air markets you cannot help but notice the variety of flowers lining the market being sold in abundance. It is believed that more than 30,000 flower varieties exist across the Mexican landscape. According to the Mexican Institute of Ecology the number is actually 26,000 but many scientists believe this is a low estimate.
Poinsettas
Photo by Scott Bauer, Wikimedia Commons
Many of us know what the poinsettia flower looks like because we feature this plant around the Christmas holiday. The poinsettia flower originated in Mexico and was called Cuetlaxochitl, meaning skin flower, in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs. Currently the poinsettia flower is known in Mexico as "Noche Buena," which means Christmas Eve. The poinsettia's association with Christmas actually stemmed from a legend that originated in 16th century Mexico. The legend tells of a young girl who was too poor to give Jesus a present on his birthday. The girl was visited by an angel who told her to pick weeds from the side of the road and place them in front of the church altar. The young girl plucked the weeds and placed them in front of the church altar where from the weeds beautiful crimson blossoms sprouted and became poinsettias. This legend was the start of poinsettias becoming commonplace Christmas flowers.
Dahlia Pinnata
Photo by Wildfluer, Wikimedia Commons
Mexico's national flower is the Dahlia pinnata, most commonly called a Dahlia. The flower has blooms that look like a bursting star. Many colors of the Dahlia appear across the landscape of Mexico. Dahlia's were used by the ancient Aztecs in herbal remedies to treat everything from maladies of the head to foot problems. The Dahlia was deemed to be one of Mexico's greatest gifts to the world by President Adolfo López Mateos in 1963 and decreed that from that day on it should be the Mexican nations national flower.
Flowering Cacti
Photo by Christoph Seydl, Wikimedia Commons
Mexico city was once called Tenochtitlan, which translated means place of the sacred cactus. The cactus was important to Mexico and still is important to Mexican culture. Ancient Aztec paintings and sculpture have shown pictorial representations of the cactus and the Aztec peoples used the cactus plant in many religious ceremonies. Mexico still features a cactus on its coat of arms with an eagle holding a snake perched on top. The cactus, especially the flowering variety, has been used as decorative plants in many homes. This has caused the cactus to be considered an endangered species of wild flora and fauna. In Mexico there is a steep penalty of a prison sentence if you are caught digging up cacti.
About the Author:
Linda St.Cyr is a published author and freelance Web writer. Samples of her work can be found at Demand Media, Examiner, Associated Content and Helium. Her short stories will be appearing in anthology collections including Elements of Time, Relationships: Good, Bad and Funny, and a Halloween anthology collection.
