Plumeria

I really paid attention to the Plumeria when we visited Hawaii 25 years ago. The flowers are used to make leis as a garland worn around the neck especially during a greeting ceremony. There are alternate names for the plants. A common name is “frangipani”. The scientific name is Plumeria Apocyanacea. The following adage apples to my experience in finding them in Florida. “If you don’t look for them you don’t see them”. While biking I noticed a tree that was remarkable for its lack of leaves and flowers. Now my eyes are open and I see them everywhere. Plumeria plants are native to Mexico and Central America.

In the fall the tree starts out with a very unbecoming aspect. It seems to be from another planet. I wondered why anyone would have such a strange looking tree dominating their front yard. Check out previous references to these trees in this blog Blooming Trees of Spring and Trees of Christmas.

This Plumeria tree in late fall is leafless and has no blossoms. It looks very strange and gives no hint to its potential colorful future. This is almost like the story of the ugly duckling.

In mid summer the Plumeria are in full color and the trees are spectacular. The trees that I found here are better than the trees which is saw in Hawaii. They thrive in the heat and full sunlight therefore many of the transient winter visitors may never see the blossoms.