Plumeria (), commonly known as frangipani, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae. Most species are deciduous shrubs or small trees. They are native to the Neotropical realm (in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, and as far south as Brazil and as far north as Florida in the United States), but are often grown as ornamentals in tropical regions, especially in Hawaii, as well as hot desert climates in the Arabian Peninsula with irrigation. The trunk and branches of the Plumeria species have a milky latex sap that, like many other Apocynaceae, contains poisonous compounds that irritate the eyes and skin.
Leaves
thumb|Leaves
thumb|Fruit
Plumeria species are small trees or low shrubs. The leaves grow at tips of their branches. Various species and cultivar have various leaf shape and arrangements.
Flowers
thumb|Time-lapse of a flower opening
Plumeria trees flower from early summer to fall. Their blossoms grow in clusters on ends of the stems, they are made of tubular corolla with a length of that split sharply into five rounded and waxy petals that overlap each other. These flowers come in many colours including pink, red, white and yellow, orange, or pastel. They have separate anthers.
Its fruit separates into two follicles with winged seeds.
Species
thumb|A frangipani tree in bloom in [[Buġibba|Bugibba, Malta]]
The genus Plumeria includes about 18 accepted species, with over 100 regarded as synonyms. , Plants of the World Online accepted the following species: The Plumeria Society of America lists 368 registered cultivars of Plumeria as of 2009.
In culture
thumb|Plumeria is commonly used to make [[Lei (garland)|leis in Hawaii.]]
<!--thumb|Plumeria relief in [[Penataran temple, Blitar, East Java]]
In Southeast Asia the plumeria tree and flower are considered sacred. A relief in the Penataran temple ruins in East Java shows a plumeria tree with its distinct flower petals and skeleton-like branches. A relief in the Borobudur temple, at the west side 1st zone, also depicts plumeria. These reliefs were created before European exploration. Borobudur was constructed in the 9th century and Penataran in the 14th century. Taken together, their dates fail to establish when plumeria came to Southeast Asia.
-->
In Mesoamerica, plumerias have carried complex symbolic significance for over two millennia, with striking examples from the Maya and Aztec periods into the present. Among the Maya, plumerias have been associated with deities representing life and fertility, and the flowers also became strongly connected with female sexuality. Nahuatl-speaking people during the height of the Aztec Empire used plumerias to signify elite status, and planted plumeria trees in the gardens of nobles.
Plumerias were introduced into the Philippines in the 1560s by the Spanish, and from there they were taken into Indonesia and Malaysia. In these areas, plumerias are often associated with ghosts and death, and are planted around cemeteries in the belief that the fragrant flowers ward off evil spirits by masking the smell of decay. Yangsze Choo in her novel The Night Tiger for example described it as is "the graveyard flower of the Malays". Plumerias often are planted on burial grounds in all three nations. They are also common ornamental plants in houses, parks, parking lots, and other open-air establishments in the Philippines. Balinese Hindus use the flowers in their temple offerings. The plumeria's fragrance is also associated with the Kuntilanak, an evil vampiric spirit of a dead mother in Malaysian-Indonesian folklores.
In several Pacific islands, where plumerias were introduced in the late 19th century, such as Tahiti, Fiji, Samoa, Hawaii, New Zealand, Tonga, and the Cook Islands, Plumeria species are used for making leis. In Hawaii, the flower is called melia. In modern Polynesian culture, the flower can be worn by women to indicate their relationship status—over the right ear if seeking a relationship, and over the left if taken.
Plumeria rubra is the national flower of Laos, where it is known under the local name champa. It is also used as the logo of Lao Airlines, the national airline of Laos.
In eastern India and Bangladesh, plumeria is traditionally considered as a variety of the champak flower, the golok chapa, meaning the champaka that resides in the heavenly home of Sri Krishna, a Hindu god at the highest realm of heaven. In Sri Lanka it is known as "Araliya" or "Temple Flower". The flower, considered sacred, is also known by the names gulancha and kath golap.
In Bengali culture, most white flowers, and in particular, plumeria (Bengali, chômpa or chãpa), are associated with funerals and death.
Indian incenses scented with Plumeria rubra have "champa" in their names. For example, nag champa is an incense containing a fragrance combining plumeria and sandalwood. While plumeria is an ingredient in Indian champa incense, the extent of its use varies between family recipes. Most champa incenses also incorporate other tree resins, such as Halmaddi (Ailanthus triphysa) and benzoin resin, as well as other floral ingredients, including champaca (Magnolia champaca), geranium (Pelargonium graveolens), and vanilla (Vanilla planifolia) to produce a more intense, plumeria-like aroma.
In the Western Ghats of Karnataka, the bride and groom exchange garlands of cream-coloured plumeria during weddings. Red-colored flowers are not used in weddings in this region. Plumeria plants are found in most of the temples in these regions.
In Eastern Africa, frangipani are sometimes referred to in Swahili love poems.
Some species of plumeria have been studied for their potential medicinal value.
Gallery
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Frangipani 3.jpg|Red plumeria found in Nashik, India
File:Kudup dan bunga kemboja (Plumeria).JPG |Red frangipani found in Malaysia
File:Bunga kemboja (Plumeria) merah.JPG |Red frangipani found in Malaysia
File:Plumeria (Frangipani).jpg|Plumeria in the Jardin des Plantes de Lille, Lille, France
File:Fallen Plumeria.JPG|Plumeria found in Bangalore, India
File:Bunga Kemboja.jpg |Pink frangipani
File:Plumeria White.jpg|White Plumeria, found at Andhra Pradesh
File:Chempakam.jpg|White Plumeria, Kozhikode, Kerala
File:Plumeria-0006-Zachi-Evenor.jpg|Plumeria rubra in Israel
File:Indian champa plumeria.jpg | Plumeria (Indian Champa) in Surat, India
File:Hot pink frangipani in full bloom.jpg|Hot pink frangipani in full bloom
File:Plumeria-tree-Tel-Aviv-ZE-MK-1.jpg|Flowering tree of Plumeria rubra decorating a garden in Tel Aviv, Israel
</gallery>