Just in time for the Christmas season, the Poinsett estate has sued Ecke successor Agribio Group, which bought the Ecke Ranch flower-growing business in 2012.
A generational succession of Eckes used breeding and culturing techniques to develop a host of colorful potted plant varieties they called poinsettias.
Joel Poinsett, US minister to Mexico in the 1820s, brought the red and green shrub Euphorbia pulcherrima home. It had been attractive in Mexico and remained so in the US because its upper leaves turn red during the Christmas season. The combination of red and green leaves that appear in December make the plant a natural fit.
Court records show that the first Paul Ecke said, “Well, we couldn’t expect to sell plants called Euphorbia pulcherrima, so as we developed them we called them poinsettias, which others were already doing at the time.
The Poinsett heirs’ suit claims “wanton theft and misuse of our family name for commercial gain without permission, attribution or compensation.” Casual use of poinsettia to name the plant is fine with the heirs; it’s widespread commercial use that’s the problem.
Since Agribio Group bought the business outright, the Ecke family bears no liability. Any settlement or judgment would be borne by Agribio Group.
