Plumeria

Plumeria
Plumeria alba (White Frangipani)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Gentianales Family: Apocynaceae Genus: Plumeria Tourn. ex L.
Species
7-8 species including: Plumeria alba Plumeria inodora Plumeria obtusa Plumeria pudica Plumeria rubra (Also known as Plumeria acuminata and Plumeria acutifolia) Plumeria stenopetala Plumeria stenophylla

Plumeria (common name Frangipani; syn. Himatanthus Willd. ex Roem. & Schult.) is a small genus of 7-8 species native to tropical and subtropical Americas. The genus consists of mainly deciduous shrubs and trees. P. rubra (Common Frangipani, Red Frangipani), native to Mexico, Central America, and Venezuela, produces flowers ranging from yellow to pink depending on form or cultivar. From Mexico and Central America, Plumeria has spread to all tropical areas of the world, especially Hawaii, where it grows so abundantly that many people think that it is indigenous there.

Plant

Plumeria is related to the Oleander, Nerium oleander, and both possess poisonous, milky sap, rather similar to that of Euphorbia. Each of the separate species of Plumeria bears differently shaped leaves and their form and growth habits are also distinct. The leaves of P. alba are quite narrow and corrugated, while leaves of P. pudica have an elongated oak shape and glossy, dark green color. P. pudica is one of the everblooming types with non-deciduous, evergreen leaves. Another species that retains leaves and flowers in winter is P. obtusa; though its common name is "Singapore", it is originally from Colombia.

Plumeria flowers are most fragrant at night in order to lure sphinx moths to pollinate them. The flowers have no nectar, and simply dupe their pollinators. The moths inadvertently pollinate them by transferring pollen from flower to flower in their fruitless search for nectar.

Plumeria species are easily propagated by taking a cutting of leafless stem tips in spring and allowing them to dry at the base before inserting them into soil. They are also propagated via tissue culture both from cuttings of freshly elongated stems and via aseptically germinated seed. Frangipanis are an amazing plant!

Etymology and common names

Plumeria rubra

The genus, originally spelled Plumiera, is named in honor of the seventeenth-century French botanist Charles Plumier, who traveled to the New World documenting many plant and animal species. The common name "Frangipani" comes from an Italian noble family, a sixteenth-century marquess of which invented a plumeria-scented perfume.

In Mexico, the Nahuatl (Aztec language) name for this plant is "cacalloxochitl" which means "crow flower." It was used for many medicinal purposes such as salves and ointments.

Depending on location, many other common names exist: "Kembang Kamboja" in Indonesia, "Temple Tree" or "Champa" in India, "Kalachuchi" in the Philippines, "Araliya" or "Pansal Mal" in Sri Lanka, "Champa" in Laos, "Lantom" or "Lilarwadee" in Thai and "Dead man's fingers" in Australia, for example. The Australian name is perhaps taken from its thin, leafless, finger-like branches. Many English speakers also simply use the generic name "plumeria".

In culture

They are now common naturalised plants in southern and southeastern Asia, and in local folk beliefs provide shelter to ghosts and demons. The scent of the Plumeria has been associated with a vampire in Malay folklore, the pontianak. They are associated with temples in both Hindu and Buddhist cultures, though Hindus do not use the flowers in their temple offerings.

In several Pacific islands, such as Tahiti, Hawaii and Tonga, Plumeria is used for making leis. In modern Polynesian culture, it can be worn by women to indicate their relationship status - over the right ear if seeking a relationship, and over the left if taken.

P. alba is the national flower of Nicaragua and Laos, where it is known under the local name "Sacuanjoche" (Nicaragua) and "Champa" (Laos).

In the book "A Varanda do Frangipani" by Mozambican author, Mia Couto, the shedding of the tree's flowers serves to mark the passage of time, and whose conclusion sees the protagonists submerging into the tree's roots as the ultimate solution to fix their shattered world.

In Bangladeshi culture most white flowers, and particularly plumeria (Bengali: চম্পা chômpa or চাঁপা chãpa), are associated with funerals and death.

Plumeria obtusa Gallery

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Plumeria

• Frangipani, Plumeria, Lonely Hearts Posts and New Books to Read! - Informative but non-scholarly essay on Plumeria.
• (Portuguese) Flora Brasiliensis: Plumeria
• (French) Dok Champa Muang Lao: Plumeria Flowers, fleurs des frangipaniers, fleurs du Laos. Présentation de toutes les méthodes de multiplications : par bouture, semis, greffe ou encore marcottage.
• (Dutch) plumeria's in nederland kweken
• Bali Plumeria [1]

National Symbols of Nicaragua
National Flag · Coat of Arms · National Anthem · National Flower · National Bird

Donate to Wikimedia