Everything about Plumeria totally explained
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's 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's originally from
Colombia. Frangipani can also be found in Eastern Africa, where they're sometimes referred to in Swahili love poems. For example, see An Anthology of Swahili Love Poetry by Jan Knappert, page 93.
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.
Etymology and common names
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 "Leelaawadee" in
Thai. 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 don't use the flowers in their temple offerings.
In several Pacific islands, such as
Tahiti, Fiji, 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's 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 the 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.
Literary occurrences
Rabindranath Tagore story entitled 'The Champa Flower' from the collection Crescent Moon (External Link
)
P. B. Shelley "The champak odours fail/Like sweet thoughts in a dream", line from "Indian Serenade"
Under the Frangipani by Mia Couto
Reference is made to the scent frangipani in Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray
American singer-songwriter John Vanderslice references the frangipani tree in the song "Kookaburra" on his 2007 release, Emerald City.
Plumeria obtusa Gallery
Image:Fruit & flower I IMG 4181.jpg|Fruit & flower
Image:Flower I IMG 8330.jpg|Flowers
Image:Bark I IMG 4179.jpg|Bark
Image:Leaves I IMG 8331.jpg|Leaves
Further Information
Get more info on 'Plumeria'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://plumeria.totallyexplained.com">Plumeria Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
