Frangipani, Hawaiian Lei Flower (Apocynaceae)
Origin: Mexico to South America
Plumerias are some of the most popular trees of the tropics, famous for their gorgeous flowers. If you have ever been presented with a lei neckless, they were most likely plumerias! Almost every hotel in a tropical island country will have a Plumeria planted somewhere on its grounds. Yet, the plant is foreign to most of the places we associate it with. Beloved by so many, they have been carried over the oceans and across the globe, finding homes anywhere absent of freezes, even the dry southern California desert.
Plumerias have been cultivated for such a long period of time that subsequently, most plants found here in Florida are hybrids or cultivars—bred for maximum color potential, fragrance, and bloom count. Of all of the species of Plumeria, P. rubra is the source of many plumeria hybrid cultivars. They have the most varied flower color, the most intense fragrance, and is perhaps the most prolific bloomer. Since this species is typically used as the dominant genotype in breeding, many cultivated plumerias are deciduous in Sarasota’s sub-tropical climate. So in winter they’re dormant (though sometimes bear fruit), in spring they leaf out, and then bloom all summer long.
Plumeria blooms are typical dogbane flower forms; five petals fused at the base and presented on a whorl, like blades of a propeller or a pinwheel rotating counter-clockwise. The “rubras” come in a variety of color forms, including reds, pinks, creams, and rainbows (multiple colors on the same flower). Many flowers have an “eye,” a term in the horticultural trade for a flower with petals that have a different color at the base from the rest of the petal, causing a discolored center to the flower (not to be confused with ray flowers, such as sunflowers). The fragrance is varied, some plumerias smell of bananas, others are almost gardenia-like, the P. rubra may possess a strong coconut aroma. Plumerias have been used heavily in incense throughout India and Southern Asia and are commonly planted on the grounds of Hindu and Buddhist temples—attaining the name “temple tree”.
Here at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, there are several plumerias in our collection, including species (evergreen species such as P. pudica and P. obtusa—located in the Succulent Garden ) and hybrids and cultivars, such as Plumeria rubra ‘Miami Rose,’ planted on the back, south-side of the Botany Building along S. Palm Ave. Of all of the plumerias on campus, this one is possibly the most popular with its delicious fragrance and plethora of blooms.
Text by David Troxell