Why the story of the poinsettia is a troubling one. Subscribe and turn on notifications 🔔 so you don't miss any videos: http://goo.gl/0bsAjO Depending on where you live, there is one plant that you can spot anywhere during the winter holiday season (outside of, well, Christmas trees): poinsettias. It was named for the first US minister to Mexico: Joel Poinsett. In Mexico, Poinsett saw the plant — called cuetlaxochitl by the Aztec and with a long history of use in the region — and shipped some cuttings back to the US. Many around the world started calling the plant “poinsettia” to celebrate Poinsett’s legacy. But that legacy is a troubling one. Poinsett was a slave owner, a firm believer in American expansion, and during his tenure as secretary of war he oversaw the displacement of thousands of Native Americans. In his role as minister to Mexico, he meddled so much in local politics that he was asked to leave the country. Because of that history — and the fact that the US still corners the lucrative poinsettia market while restricting their imports from Mexico — many people today reject the name poinsettia in favor of the plant’s Native name, cuetlaxochitl. Check out the video above for more on how the US got the poinsettia. Additional sources: The full-text of Poinsett’s “Notes from Mexico” https://archive.org/embed/notesonmexicoma01poingoog This piece by Mark Schmeller on Poinsett’s legacy: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/12/23/conspiracy-fueled-origin-christmas-poinsettia This research on the history of poinsettias by Judith M. Taylor and others: https://www.canr.msu.edu/uploads/resources/pdfs/the_history_of_the_poinsettia.pdf Have an idea for a story that we should investigate for Missing Chapter? Send it to us via this form! http://bit.ly/2RhjxMy Sign up for the Missing Chapter newsletter to stay up to date with the series: https://vox.com/missing-chapter Explore the full Missing Chapter playlist, including episodes, a creator Q&A, and more!    • Missing Chapter – Vox   Subscribe to our channel and turn on notifications (🔔) so you don't miss any videos: http://goo.gl/0bsAjO Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com/ Make sure you never miss behind the scenes content in the Vox Video newsletter, sign up here: http://vox.com/video-newsletter Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/IZONyE Or our podcasts: https://www.vox.com/podcasts Follow Vox on Facebook: http://goo.gl/U2g06o If you value Vox’s unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring contribution: http://www.vox.com/contribute-now