Canary flora > Exotic and ornamental
Plumeria rubra
Plumeria rubra L.
Frangipani, Pagoda tree, Plumeria, Red paucipan, Temple tree
Deciduous tree, about 5-8 m high, with a straight trunk, with a few
thick, twisted branches, with a blunt end, which gives it a
characteristic appearance, and covered with smooth, shiny, somewhat
scaly bark, with abundant lenticels. They form an open, more or less
sun-shaped crown.
The leaves are bright green on the upper side, about 15-30 cm long and 4-8 cm wide, simple, alternate, leathery, lanceolate to elliptic, entire and pointed.
They are grouped in spirals on the terminal portion of the branches and fall off in dry weather, leaving large scars on the branches.
The leaves are bright green on the upper side, about 15-30 cm long and 4-8 cm wide, simple, alternate, leathery, lanceolate to elliptic, entire and pointed.
They are grouped in spirals on the terminal portion of the branches and fall off in dry weather, leaving large scars on the branches.
Its showy and aromatic flowers, white with a yellowish base, are grouped
in axillary panicles of between 15-30 cm in diameter, located between
the newest leaves.
Each flower consists of a calyx with reduced sepals and a pentamerous corolla, with the petals forming a kind of pinwheel. The flowers of cultivated specimens are usually yellow, pink, reddish or purple, or a mixture of these colours.
The fruits are two large, narrow follicles up to 25 cm long, joined at the base, initially green and later dark orange, containing a large number of flat, winged, dark brown seeds.
Each flower consists of a calyx with reduced sepals and a pentamerous corolla, with the petals forming a kind of pinwheel. The flowers of cultivated specimens are usually yellow, pink, reddish or purple, or a mixture of these colours.
The fruits are two large, narrow follicles up to 25 cm long, joined at the base, initially green and later dark orange, containing a large number of flat, winged, dark brown seeds.
Flowering occurs in spring, but specimens can be seen in flower almost
all year round.
It multiplies by seed, but more easily and quickly by cuttings in spring.
This species is native to warm regions of the Americas, from Mexico to Bolivia and northern Argentina, and is distributed from southern Mexico to the West Indies.
From there it has spread to many tropical and subtropical areas of the world, where it is cultivated as an ornamental plant in gardens and parks, both for the beauty of its flowers and the ease with which it can reproduce and the little care it requires.
It multiplies by seed, but more easily and quickly by cuttings in spring.
This species is native to warm regions of the Americas, from Mexico to Bolivia and northern Argentina, and is distributed from southern Mexico to the West Indies.
From there it has spread to many tropical and subtropical areas of the world, where it is cultivated as an ornamental plant in gardens and parks, both for the beauty of its flowers and the ease with which it can reproduce and the little care it requires.
