The Santa Lucía Flower

Photo: Anita Gould

Depending on where you live, and perhaps your natural disposition, the Santa Lucía can be a considered a beautiful wildflower, or an obnoxious weed that pops up everywhere and is practically impossible to get rid of.  Originating in Central America, this hearty species has managed to travel around the globe to Africa, Asia, Brazil, and even Australia.   (Where it is commonly known as billy goat weed, thanks to the fact that it smells remarkably like a male goat.)  No matter where in the world you find it, it is utilized by local cultures as a remedy for an impressive range of maladies, including diarreah, pneumonia, fever, headache, colic, sore throat, even cuts and burns.  In Costa Rica, when the Santa Lucía blooms en masse after November’s heavy rains, the pink, lavender, blue, and white flowers create a sea of color washing over hills and along roadsides.  Making the most of this abundance, neighbors traditionally exchange bouquets of the flowers in January to bring good luck and prosperity in the new year.  It is also said that if you put a sprig of Santa Lucía in your wallet, you’ll end up with plenty of money for the whole year.  Now, as is the case with any promise of easy money, there are a few small conditions. The flower has to be a gift from someone, and supposedly only the white flowers will bring about the desired outcome.  So while it’s probably true that money doesn’t grow on trees, much less wildflowers, it’s still fun to participate in a local tradition.  And like the famous lottery slogan says: “Hey, you never know.”

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 27th, 2014 at 8:00 am. It is filed under Costa Rica, Nature. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.