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Frangipani (White Plumeria)
Plumeria rubra
-27.5084, 153.018
Field Notes
Description:
Plumeria (common name Frangipani) is a genus of flowering plants in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae. It contains seven or eight species of mainly deciduous shrubs and small trees. The most common frangipani is the Plumeria Rubra. Rubra come in many colours, from white to cream to yellow, even oranges, pinks (both pale and hot pink), reds and even deep cerise. They also come in multiple colours (such as pink, apricot and yellow in the one flower). And Rubra has the most fragrant flowers! The flowers themselves have medium sized, oval shaped petals (always 5 of them) which are joined tightly at the base. The flower starts as a long tube, then the petals slowly unwrap and open to form the frangipani flower. The leaves from a Plumeria Rubra are long and oval and have quite a pointed end. It grows as a spreading tree to 7–8 m (20–25 ft) high and wide.
Habitat:
The species is cultivated around the world in subtropical and tropical climates. In Australia, it is widely seen in cultivation in Sydney and Perth and warmer frost free climates northwards.
Notes:
This beautiful Frangipani is in my front yard. Not a large tree (yet), it is nonetheless a beautiful and healthy specimen. Perfectly positioned, it affords shade during the hot Summer months, and in Winter sheds it's leaves and opens up the yard to let in the sunshine. Its flowers are of the yellow variety. NB: The last three photos in this series show the Frangipani during and after the Brisbane Flood of 2011. Due to the toxicity of the polluted water, the leaves quickly shriveled and fell, but it didn't take long before new shoots appeared, leaves grew, and flowers bloomed. It's quite a hardy tree and survived the flood, where as many other plant species died.
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