Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

WS, Frangipani
DOGBANE FAMILY (APOCYNACEAE)
Plumeria rubra L*
Frangipani is a smnll ornamental tree with are strung into chains and garlands and variously
milky juice, introduced and commonly planted in employed in decorntions, often in churches. In
gardens nnd parks for its beautiful clusters of the Pacific Islands the trees fre uently are planted
very frngmnt, large, tubular, red, yellow, or in cemeteries and sometimes ca 9 led temple-flowers
wh~te flowers. Characters for recognition include: and grnveynrd-flowers.
(1) the few stout fleshy branches with whitish The caustic milky juice ~vhich flows freely from
latex, bearing alternnte but cronded leaves at the cut trunks reportedly is poisonous but has been
apex ; (2) the large elliptic lenves 5-16 inches lon employed in some regions in folk medicines.
and 11h-5 inches wide, shiny green above nn fi Frnngipnni one of the common names, is mid to
often hairy beneath; (3) loose clusters of large be derived &om the French word L'fran i anier,"
wnxy flowers 2-3 inches across the 5 spreading, coagulated milk, \vhich is descriptive o !E t e thick
o\-erlnpping corolln lobes; nnd (4) pa~red pods whito rubbery latex.
5-10 inches long and 1/2-11/2 inches in diameter. Common as an ornnmental in Puerto Rico, St.
This handsome srnnll tree becomes 15-25 feet
and Tortola and
tall, with very open crown of few tllick s reading
Plants
brnnches. Bttrk is gray and smoothisl~. lP 11 Puerto
cuttings. It is re-
Rico the trees nre evergreen, but in arens wit11 n
to dry out for 2 weeks
long dry senson they shed their leaves and often
grow in dry, rocky,
flower when leafless.
and windy nreas. In some arens lanting is not
Petioles nre stout, mostly 1-2s inches long. recommended becnuse large caterpiflnrs caused re-
Blades nre usually sl~ort-pointed at both ends, not peated defoliation.
tootlled on edges, thick and lenthery, with many RANGE.-Native of southern Mexico and Central
pnrnllel Intern1 veins nlmost at right angles to America south to Costa Ricn. Now widely intromidrib.
duced throu h tropical and subtro ical regions of
The long-stnlked flat-topped flower cluster the world. k lanted in southern F f orida and Cali-
(cyme) is terminal or n pearing lateral, often 6-9 fornia, through the West Indies, and South
inches across. ninny b r ossoms are borne on stout America south to Peru and Brazil. First destalks
inch long, buds in the center opening scribed botanically from specimens collected in
first. The flower has n &lobed calyx I/s inch long; Jamaica.
corolln with narrow tube S/8-1 inch long and less OTIIER COJIMON NABLES.-~~~~~, nleli rojo (Puerto
than 1/8 inch in diameter and with 5 elliptic Rico) ; frnngi jnponie, red pnucipan (Virgin
roundecl lobes 1-2 inches long, 5 small stamens less Islands) ; ntaiba rosnda (Dominican Republic) ;
tl~an '/s incli long inserted near base of co~olla
tube; and pistil of 2 separate ovaries partly infelirio,
lirio tricolor, frnngipin (Cuba) ; cacaloxorior
and a single short style.
chit], cncnlosGchil, silcl~il, nor de cuervo (Mexico) ;
The pnired pods (~ollicles) from a flower flor de In cruz, pnlo de cruz, flor de mayo, matuspread
widely apart, split open on 1 side, and con- hun, nicte de monte (Guntemala) ; flor blanca,
tain many winged seeds. Flowering and fruit- flor de In cruz, flor de ensnrta, flor de mayo (El
in nenrly through the year in Puerto Rico. Salvador) ; flor de toro, sncuanjoche (Nicaragua) ;
%lo,rers commonly Ilave d, rose-colored, or cacalojoche, flor blanca, juche, torito (Costa
purplish-tinged corollas, but some cultivated Ricn) ; cnrncuchn, cararucha hlanca, palo de la
forms have yellow flowers or white with n yellow cnlz (1'11nttmn) ; nmnncnyo (Colombia) ; amapola
dot or eye at base of encll lobe. A less frequent (Venezuela) ; cnrnchuche (Peru) ; frnngipani, red
tricolorecl form llns n \vhito or pale yello\v corolln frangipani, ~vhito frnngipani, nosegay frangipani,
with outer margin of lobes rose nncl usunlly wit11 Mexican frnngipani, nosegay (English) ; red
n yellow spot at base of lobes. The white-flo\vered jasmine (Bermudn, Jnmnica) ; jessamine, Spnnish
garden form has been incorrectly referred to the jasmine (Bahamas) ; frangipanier (French) ;
native white- flo~vered species (Plumeria aZbn L.) , frangipnnier rose (IIniti) ; frnngipnnier rouge,
~vhich has narrow lance-shapecl lenres densely frangipnnier blnnc (Gundeloupe) ; red fmngepane
\vhite hairy beneath 11nd also fewer, smaller (Dutch West Indies).
blossoms.
~JOT,\NICAL s~~o~~~~s.--PZumeria acutifolia
The firm blossoms, which do not wither easily, Poir., P. tricolor Ruiz & Pav.