Frangipani
Plumerias, also called frangipani, can be small tropical trees or small shrubs, with fragrant flowers, beautiful plants that some say define “Tropical.” They are also used in Hawaii to make the popular “leis,” though they are not native there.
The Plumerias, or frangipani, are closely related plants that can be grown from cuttings, and often look like sad, defoliated sticks upon planting. However, they grow fast and add a tropical aesthetic and a spectacular floral display to your landscape.
In Florida, most plumeria tend to be dormant and lose their leaves in the winter months but once the leaves are reestablished, the plants are prolific bloomers!
Plumeria plants flower from early summer to fall. Their blossoms grow in clusters on ends of the stems, they are made of tubular spirals with a length of 2 - 4 inches (5.1–10.2 cm) that split sharply into five rounded and waxy petals that overlap each other. These flowers come in many colors including pink, red, white and yellow, orange, or pastel. The flowers are highly fragrant especially at night, their scent is perceived to have smells from some flowers like jasmine, citrus, and gardenia, but they yield no nectar. Plumeria plants from cross-pollinated seeds of other Plumeria may show characteristics of the mother tree or their flowers might just have a distinct appearance. The fruit it produces separates into two follicles with winged seeds.
In Mesoamerica, they have carried complex symbolic significance with striking examples from the Maya and Aztec periods. Among the Maya, they have been associated with deities representing life and fertility, and the flowers also became strongly connected with female sexuality. Nahuatl-speaking people during the height of the Aztec Empire used them to signify elite status, planting them in the gardens of nobles.
In several Pacific islands, they were introduced in the late 19th century, such as in Tahiti, Fiji, Samoa, Hawaii, New Zealand, Tonga, and the Cook Islands.
WARNING, these plants can be toxic the Children, dogs and cats.
