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Plumeria rubra
Also called Frangipani, Pagoda Tree, Red Jasmine, Chelilairangebard, Mexican Plumeria, Red Paucipan, Frangipani Pink
In Singapore: Frangipani, Common Frangipani, Kemboja, Bunga Kubur, Red Frangipani, Nosegay Frangipani, Chempaka, Pagoda Tree, Camboja (Grown in Singapore)
Plumeria rubra, the templetree or frangipani, is a deciduous tree or large shrub grown for its very fragrant pink, white and yellow flowers. It needs a warm, frost-free climate and full sun, with well-drained soil and dry-to-moderate moisture.
Plumeria rubra is a deciduous plant species belonging to the genus Plumeria. Originally native to Mexico, Central America, Colombia and Venezuela, it has been widely cultivated in subtropical and tropical climates worldwide and is a popular garden and park plant, as well as being used in temples and cemeteries. It grows as a spreading tree to 7–8 m (23–26 ft) high and wide, and is flushed with fragrant flowers of shades of pink, white and yellow over the summer and autumn.
Its common names include frangipani, red paucipan, red-jasmine, red frangipani, common frangipani, temple tree, calachuchi, or simply plumeria. Despite its common name, the species is not a "true jasmine" and not of the genus Jasminum.
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. In the mainland United States, it tolerates USDA Hardiness zones 10B to 11 (southern coastal California and the southern tip of Florida). It is also grown in Hawaii to an altitude of 2000 m. They tolerate a wide variety of soils, from acid to alkaline and sandy to clay. These plants grow best in dry to medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun and will bloom through most of the year in tropical areas. They do not grow well in wet soils and in areas with temperatures below 10 °C (50 °F) during the winter seasons, the plants will stop blooming and shed their leaves. Established plants are also very salt tolerant and tolerate even salt-laden winds. Widely available in nurseries, frangipanis are readily propagated by cuttings of branches taken in cooler months and left to dry for a week or more.
Its native range extends from Baja California into central Mexico south through Central America (Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Belize, Honduras, Panama) to the Department of Antioquia in Colombia and Venezuela in South America. It is cultivated widely in tropical and subtropical regions of the world, and has become naturalized in most parts of tropical Asia and the Pacific Islands.
The USDA Forestry Service lists Plumeria rubra as a poisonous plant and warns against touching or eating any part of the plant.
Nosegaytree · Singapore graveyard flower · Hammerleaf Frangipani · Frangipani
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Plumeria rubra by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
