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Conservation Status
IUCN: not evaluated
USFWS: None
Family: APOCYNACEAE Genus: Plumeria Species: alba Species Author: L. Vernacular: Temple tree, frangipani, melia
Plumeria alba is a small tree known for is pungently fragrant, spiral shaped blooms typically produced from June through November. This tree has a thin bark and milky sap. The narrowly strap-like leaves stay on the tree for most of the year. The white flowers with a yellow center have an almost waxy feel. After flowering narrowly cylindrical pods borne in pairs attached at the base and filled with winged seeds are sometimes produced. Plumeria alba is a species native to the West Indies that is uncommonly cultivated in Hawaii. However, this name has been mistakenly applied to other commonly cultivated related species including Plumeria rubra, which has many different flower color forms ranging from white with a yellow center to pink or deep red. The so-called Singapore Plumeria, Plumeria obtusa, has intensely fragrant white flowers with a yellow center. White flowered forms of Plumeria rubra are sometimes misidentified as P.alba, but the true Plumeria alba occurs naturally along rocky coastlines of islands in the Caribbean and is rare in cultivation outside of botanical gardens.
(Staples, G. W. and D. R. Herbst. 2005. A Tropical Garden Flora: Plants cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, Hawai`i.).
(Gilman, Edward and Watson, Dennis. “Plumeria alba: White Frangipani”. Accessed 10/01/08. hort.ifas.ufl.edu/trees/PLUALBA.pdf)
(Jones, Jay. “Hawaii keeps lei-making tradition alive”. Los Angeles Times. Accessed 10/01/08 at http://travel.latimes.com/articles/la-tr-leis27apr27
Plumeria alba is susceptible to freezing and therefore should not be planted in areas that freeze during the winter.
(Gilman, Edward and Watson, Dennis. “Plumeria alba: White Frangipani”. Accessed 10/01/08. hort.ifas.ufl.edu/trees/PLUALBA.pdf)
Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean.
We currently have 2 herbarium specimens for Plumeria alba in our collection. Click on any specimen below to view the herbarium sheet data.
