White Frangipani, Frangipani, Plumeria

Scientific Name : Plumeria rubra var. acutifolia
Common Name : White Frangipani, Frangipani, Plumeria
Chinese Name : 黃雞蛋花、緬梔、緬梔子
Family : APOCYNACEAE
Local distribution status : Exotic species

Anecdotes on plants

Origin Native to Mexico.
Meanings of Name The generic name Plumeria commemorates 18th century French botanist Charles Plumier (1646-1704). The specific epithet rubra means ‘red’, auditing the red flowers of the original species.
Vitality White Frangipani grows well in well-drained, saline, and dry soils. It is tolerant of wind and shade but prefers a full-sun environment.
Application White Frangipani has an elegant tree form with fragrant flowers and is commonly planted in tropical and subtropical Asia as roadside trees or ornamental species. In Guangdong, citizens often pluck and dry White Frangipani to process them into Guangdong herbal tea, known as ‘Five-Flowers Tea (五花茶)’, which includes flowers from Kudzu Vine (Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi), Common Chrysanthemum (Dendranthema morifolium (Ramat.) Tzvelev), Tree Cotton (Bombax ceiba L.) and Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica Thunb.). Additionally, White Frangipani could be used in traditional Chinese medicine for treating damp-heat dysentery and for detoxification.

Traits for identification

Growing Habit Small deciduous tree.
Height To 8 m tall.
Stem Bark green, branchlets stout, stem fleshy, smooth and glabrous, wounds emit poison white latex.
Leaves Leaf alternate, thick papery, cluster on apex of branch, oblong-oblanceolate or oblong, apex shortly acuminate, base narrowly cuneate. Deep green adaxially, pale green abaxially, both sides glabrous, midvein emarginate adaxially, slightly raised abaxially, glands on petiole base, glabrous.
Flower Cyme apex, glabrous, peduncle fleshy, green, pedicel pale red, small calyx lobe, corolla white outer, yellow in center, cylindrical, glabrous outside, inner covered dense pubescent, corolla lobes broadly obovate, apex round, stamen grows corolla tube base, filament extremely short, anther oblong.
Fruit Bi-follicle, oblong-cylindrical or long cylindrical, acuminate on the end, black, glabrous.
Seed Oblique-oblong, compressed, apex with membranous wing.
Flowering Period March to September in Hong Kong.
Fruiting Period May to December in Hong Kong.
Overview of Plumeria rubra var. acutifolia.
Bark green, branchlets stout, stem fleshy, smooth and glabrous, wounds emit poison white latex.
Leaf alternate, thick papery, cluster on apex of branch, oblong-oblanceolate or oblong, apex shortly acuminate, base narrowly cuneate. Deep green adaxially, pale green abaxially, both sides glabrous, midvein emarginate adaxially, slightly raised abaxially, glands on petiole base, glabrous.
Cyme apex, glabrous, peduncle fleshy, green, pedicel pale red, small calyx lobe, upper five lobes, lobes obovate, spiral spread, corolla white outer, yellow in center, cylindrical, glabrous outside, inner covered dense pubescent, corolla lobes broadly obovate, apex round, stamen grows corolla tube base, filament extremely short, anther oblong.
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Remarks

Scientific name above is based on Shiu-Ying Hu Herbarium website:

https://www.iplant.cn/info/Plumeria%20rubra%20cv.%20Acutifolia?t=z

 

Scientific Names from Other Databases

―GBIF: Plumeria rubra var. acutifolia (Poir.) L.H.Bailey & E.Z.Bailey

Reference
  1. Dave's Garden. (2021). Plumeria. Davesgarden.com. [Online Edition]. Retrieved 14th April 2024, from: https://davesgarden.com/sitewidesearch.php?q=Plumeria&Search=Search
  2. Dave's Garden. (2021). rubra. Davesgarden.com. [Online Edition]. Retrieved 14th April 2024, from: https://davesgarden.com/sitewidesearch.php?q=rubra+&Search=Search
  3. eFloras. (2008). Plumeria rubra Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. Nat. Flora of China [Online Edition]. Retrieved 4th April 2024, from: http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200018441
  4. Global Biodiversity Information Facility.  (2022). Plumeria rubra var. acutifolia (Poir.) L.H.Bailey & E.Z.Bailey. US National Plant Germplasm System. [Online Edition]. Retrieved  4th April 2024, from: https://www.gbif.org/species/7729728
  5. Greening, Landscape & Tree Management Section Development Bureau. (2018). Plumeria rubra ‘Acutifolia’ 雞蛋花. [Online Edition]. Retrieved 14th September 2023, from: https://www.greening.gov.hk/filemanager/greening/en/content_100/14_Plumeria_rubra_Acutifolia.pdf
  6. Hong Kong Herbarium, Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences. (2007-2011). Plumeria rubra L. 雞蛋花（紅雞蛋花）. Flora of Hong Kong. [Online Edition]. Retrieved  14th April 2024, from: https://herbarium.gov.hk/en/hk-plant-database/plant-detail/index.html?pType=species&oID=5857
  7. National Park. (2022). Plumeria rubra. Flora and Fauna Web. Retrieved 14th April 2024, from:  https://www.nparks.gov.sg/florafaunaweb/flora/3/0/3074
  8. 中國科學院植物誌編輯委員會。（1959-2004）。〈鸡蛋花 Plumeria rubra 'Acutifolia'〉。《中國植物誌》。[網上版本]。於2024年4月14日擷取自：https://www.iplant.cn/info/Plumeria%20rubra%20cv.%20Acutifolia?t=z
  9. 中醫藥學院、香港浸會大學、香港浸會大學圖書館。（2012）。〈雞蛋花 Jidanhua〉。 中藥材圖像數據庫。 [網上版本]。 於2024年4月13日擷取自：https://sys01.lib.hkbu.edu.hk/cmed/mmid/detail.php?pid=B00303&page=1&sort=name_cht#:~:text=%E5%A4%BE%E7%AB%B9%E6%A1%83%E7%A7%91%E6%A4%8D%E7%89%A9%E9%9B%9E%E8%9B%8B%E8%8A%B1,cv.%20Acutifolia%E7%9A%84%E4%B9%BE%E7%87%A5%E8%8A%B1%E3%80%82&text=%E4%B8%BB%E7%94%A2%E9%9B%B2%E5%8D%97%E3%80%81%E5%BB%A3%E6%9D%B1%E3%80%81%E7%A6%8F%E5%BB%BA,%E3%80%81%E6%B5%B7%E5%8D%97%E3%80%81%E8%87%BA%E7%81%A3%E7%AD%89%E5%9C%B0%E3%80%82&text=%E4%B9%BE%E7%87%A5%E8%8A%B1%E6%9C%B5%EF%BC%8C%E9%BB%83%E8%A4%90%E8%89%B2%E8%87%B3,%E7%B4%B0%E7%AE%A1%EF%BC%8C%E9%95%B7%E7%B4%841.5cm%E3%80%82
  10. 胡秀英植物標本館。（2020）。〈Plumeria rubra L. 雞蛋花，Pro-Factsheet，Taxonomical Archive System〉。《伍絜宜慈善基金香港原生植物資源及教材庫》。於2024年4月14日擷取自：https://syhuherbarium.sls.cuhk.edu.hk/collections/factsheet-pro/plumeria-rubra/
  11. 歐陽卓立。（2018）。《香港觀賞樹木彙編3》。自然探索學會。國際標準書號：978-9-8815-4686-9。p.p. 413-415