Facts about Frangipanis

Frangipanis
In Australia we know these plants as frangipani, but in Hawaii they call them plumeria. They also call them 'the graveyard flower' because a yellow flowering variety was once so cherished that they planted it in honour of their ancestors. Visitors to Hawaii are often welcomed with a lei made of plumeria, and when Hawaiians who have been away step off the plane and smell plumeria, they know they are home.

Frangipani was the name of an Italian perfume used to scent gloves in the 16th century and named after its creator, the Marquis Frangipani. When the frangipani flower was discovered its natural perfume reminded people of the scented gloves, and so the flower was called frangipani. The genus name, Plumeria, commemorates Charles Plumier, a seventeenth century French botanist.

Hawaiian native?
Plumerias are so popular in Hawaii that many people think they are native. In fact, the first three were brought to Hawaii from Mexico. From these - a yellow and a red form of Plumeria rubra, and the white Plumeria obtusa - hundreds of hybrids were developed.

Plumeria rubra
Native to Central America, Mexico and Venezuela, this deciduous tree grows from 5-8m tall (15-24'). The leaves are dark green and shiny, and have a prominent midrib. Like all plumeria the stems and leaves contain a white, milky sap. There are at least four distinct forms of this species:acutifolia - white flowers with yellow centreslutea - yellow flowers sometimes flushed pinkrubra - deep pink flowers with yellow centrestricolor - white flowers with yellow centres and a red or pink tipsIn Australia: Many of the forms of Plumeria rubra are grown in Australian gardens but the most commonly seen is Plumeria rubra f. acutifolia. Named cultivars are less readily available. Frangipanis will grow and flower well as far south as Sydney and Perth, particularly in coastal gardens. In colder or inland areas grow them against a warm masonry wall, in a north facing position and protect them from frost.