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Plumeria- LR9A4733

Plumeria (/pluːˈmɛriə/), known as frangipani, is a genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Rauvolfioideae, of the family Apocynaceae. Most species are deciduous shrubs or small trees. The species variously are endemic to Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, and as far south as Brazil and north as Florida (United States), but are sometimes grown as cosmopolitan ornamentals in warm regions. Common names for plants in the genus vary widely according to region, variety, and whim, but frangipani or variations on that theme are the most common. Plumeria is also used as a common name, especially in horticultural circles.

The genus is named in honor of 17th-century French botanist and Catholic monk Charles Plumier, who traveled to the New World documenting many plant and animal species. The common name "frangipani" comes from a 16th-century marquis of the noble Frangipani family in Italy, who claimed to have invented a plumeria-scented perfume,[9] but in reality made a synthetic perfume that was said at the time to resemble the odor of the recently discovered flowers.[10] Many English speakers also simply use the generic name "plumeria".[citation needed] In Southeast Asia the plumeria tree and flower are considered sacred. A relief in the Penataran temple ruins in East Java shows a plumeria tree with its distinct flower petals and skeleton-like branches. A relief in the Borobudur temple, at the west side 1st zone, also depicts plumeria. These reliefs were created before European exploration. Borobudur was constructed in the 9th century and Penataran in the 14th century. Taken together, their dates make difficult the question of deciding when plumeria came to Southeast Asia.

 

In eastern India and Bangladesh, plumeria is traditionally considered as a variety of the champak flower, the golok chapa (গোলোক চাঁপা), meaning the champaka that resides in the heavenly home of Sri Krishna, a Hindu god at the highest realm of heaven. The flower, considered sacred, is also known by the names gulancha and kath golap (literally, wood rose).

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Uploaded on August 13, 2022
Taken on June 19, 2022