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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Plumeria''
| image = Plumeria alba flowers.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = ''Plumeria alba'' (White Frangipani)
| regnum = [[Plantae]]
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Gentianales]]
| familia = [[Apocynaceae]]
| genus = '''''Plumeria'''''
| genus_authority = [[Joseph Pitton de Tournefort|Tourn.]] ex [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
| subdivision_ranks = [[Species]]
| subdivision =
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, ''[[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 [[Plant propagation|propagated]] by taking a cutting of leafless stem tips in [[Spring (season)|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 ==
[[Image:Plumeria-0-KayEss-1.jpeg|thumb|left|150px|''[[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 [[Italy|Italian]] [[Frangipani family|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". Many English speakers also simply use the generic name "plumeria".
== In culture ==
They are now common [[Naturalisation (biology)|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 (folklore)|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 [[Lei (Hawaii)|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 [[Mozambique|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 [[Culture of Bangladesh|Bangladeshi culture]] most white flowers, and particularly plumeria ([[Bengali language|Bengali]]: চম্পা ''chômpa'' or চাঁপা ''chãpa''), are associated with funerals and death.
== In Fiction ==
* [[Tagore]] story 'The Champa Flower' from the collection [[Crescent Moon]] [http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/tagore/cresmoon/cm17.htm]
* Under the Frangipani by Mia Couto
==Plumeria obtusa Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Fruit & flower I IMG 4181.jpg|Fruit & flower in [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]].
Image:Flower I IMG 8330.jpg|Flower in [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]].
Image:Bark I IMG 4179.jpg|Bark in [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]].
Image:Leaves I IMG 8331.jpg|Leaves in [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]].
</gallery>
==External links==
* [http://lakecounty.typepad.com/life_in_lake_county/2006/11/frangipani_plum.html Frangipani, Plumeria, Lonely Hearts Posts and New Books to Read!] - Informative but non-scholarly essay on Plumeria.
* {{pt icon}} [http://florabrasiliensis.cria.org.br/search?taxon_id=764 Flora Brasiliensis: ''Plumeria'']
* {{fr icon}} [http://www.amphonesinh.info/champa/ 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.]
* {{nl icon}} [http://www.plumeria.nl plumeria's in nederland kweken ]
* Bali Plumeria [http://www.balifrangipani.com]
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Plumeria''
| image = Plumeria alba flowers.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = ''Plumeria alba'' (White Frangipani)
| regnum = [[Plantae]]
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Gentianales]]
| familia = [[Apocynaceae]]
| genus = '''''Plumeria'''''
| genus_authority = [[Joseph Pitton de Tournefort|Tourn.]] ex [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
| subdivision_ranks = [[Species]]
| subdivision =
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, ''[[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 [[Plant propagation|propagated]] by taking a cutting of leafless stem tips in [[Spring (season)|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 ==
[[Image:Plumeria-0-KayEss-1.jpeg|thumb|left|150px|''[[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 [[Italy|Italian]] [[Frangipani family|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". Many English speakers also simply use the generic name "plumeria".
== In culture ==
They are now common [[Naturalisation (biology)|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 (folklore)|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 [[Lei (Hawaii)|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 [[Mozambique|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 [[Culture of Bangladesh|Bangladeshi culture]] most white flowers, and particularly plumeria ([[Bengali language|Bengali]]: চম্পা ''chômpa'' or চাঁপা ''chãpa''), are associated with funerals and death.
== In Fiction ==
* [[Tagore]] story 'The Champa Flower' from the collection [[Crescent Moon]] [http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/tagore/cresmoon/cm17.htm]
* Under the Frangipani by Mia Couto
==Plumeria obtusa Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Fruit & flower I IMG 4181.jpg|Fruit & flower in [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]].
Image:Flower I IMG 8330.jpg|Flower in [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]].
Image:Bark I IMG 4179.jpg|Bark in [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]].
Image:Leaves I IMG 8331.jpg|Leaves in [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]].
</gallery>
==External links==
* [http://lakecounty.typepad.com/life_in_lake_county/2006/11/frangipani_plum.html Frangipani, Plumeria, Lonely Hearts Posts and New Books to Read!] - Informative but non-scholarly essay on Plumeria.
* {{pt icon}} [http://florabrasiliensis.cria.org.br/search?taxon_id=764 Flora Brasiliensis: ''Plumeria'']
* {{fr icon}} [http://www.amphonesinh.info/champa/ 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.]
* {{nl icon}} [http://www.plumeria.nl plumeria's in nederland kweken ]
* Bali Plumeria [http://www.balifrangipani.com]