With exquisite, colourful, fragrant flowers, this ornamental tree is one that’s a sight for sore eyes- It’s the Plumeria rubra (Frangipani/ Temple) tree !

As we go from month to month introducing you to our beloved leafy friends, it is our endeavour that you- as a reader, can glean some useful titbit for yourself or your family besides appreciating the hope, beauty, love and utility that these green companions bring to this world. While we will continue to familiarize you with these trees/ plants, we anticipate that you will take an opportunity to come and see for yourself our efforts towards this end in our project- Ananda Habitat at Oragadam whilst finding for yourself the joy these ever smiling buddies bring to your life, as they do to ours.

Take a bow, my fragrant friend

Its possible we’ve all seen this beautiful flower growing in our office courtyards, malls, public parks or botanical gardens we’ve visited, why its possible we’ve even spotted this flower growing unabashedly in our own residential complexes nodding at us when we peek out of our windows. Its scent beckons from afar and its charm never fails to greet at most spas and salons. A Hawaiian lei made of these flowers is used as a garland to greet and bid farewell to visitors and it even occupies a place of pride in Indian culture.

Undiminished in its beauty, its true that even though it may be a commonplace flowering tree, the ‘Plumeria rubra’ tree is one that bears exquisite flowers and therefore makes it one of the most popular ornamental trees found everywhere we turn to look.

You might know it better as Frangipani

Quite a pretty sight to behold, the Plumeria rubra tree with its extended out gnarled arms and pretty white flowers is also more commonly known as Frangipani and a lot of Indians usually refer to it as champa, red-jasmine, common frangipani or the temple tree.

Belonging to the flowering plants of the dogbane family, Apocynaceae, the Plumeria bears exotic flowers that can come in a range of charming colours such as white, reds, pale yellow, orange, baby to dark pink or even in a rich shade of crimson. However, it is not uncommon, especially in the places closer to the equator, to find a riot of colours in one single flower and one would probably get to see a burst of pinks, purples, peach and yellows contained within a bloom. Needless to say the fragrance of the Frangipani is enticing and ranges from being rose like sweet to invigorating sweet notes that uplifts the senses.

The tree plays a clever trick with its heady perfumed flowers though, as the blooms are at their aromatic best when the sun goes down, a clever ploy for enticing moths to the flowers for pollination of course! What’s more, the milky white liquid from the tree is thought to be fatal and can aggravate the skin among other lethal effects, if ingested without medical supervision.

How it got its name

It is thought that the name Plumeria name was given to it in memory of the French botanist Charles Plumier, while Frangipani was the name dedicated as a token in remembrance of an Italian aristocrat credited with the discovery of creating a perfume with the fragrance of the Plumeria flower.

A bit of what we already know and a bit of what we don’t

The Frangipani tree is a fairly resilient deciduous tree with a good resistance level to tropical to even arid mild conditions and it thrives better in soil that is not deeply watered (well-drained). Requiring a mix of shady and sunny conditions to grow, the tree is popularly grown everywhere as it prospers well in tropical conditions and that too with minimal fuss, in fact the propagation too is known to be fairly easy with a simple cutting.

Bearing flowers that stay in bloom for quite a long duration, the blooms that do fall to the ground are believed to stay beautifully adorned for days, in vases or even in a damsel’s hair. What’s more, interestingly the Frangipani flower is thought to be quite a fighter as it doesn’t burn even at high temperatures going upto 500 degrees.

Among its decorative uses, the bark, flowers and leaves of the tree have shown their efficacy in medicine by way of acting as treatment for ulcers and herpes besides which it is known to present antimicrobial and antibacterial properties. The flowers though, aside from medicinal purposes have a fascinating tale to tell and one can say that their beauty has been acknowledged by one and all. Not only is it the flower representative of Palermo (Sicily, Italy) but also the national flower of Nicaragua.

The Frangipani tree is the national tree of Laos and back here in India is a symbol of immortality besides being offered to gods. Its symbolism in reference to eternal life is attributed to its unique power of not only bearing flowers from branches that have been cut besides being fertile enough to propagate from a mere cutting.
Quite a striking tree that looks beautiful wherever it grows, the Frangipani tree is one that makes a picture perfect while serving its utility to mankind too.