Ubiquitous Tropical Flora

UTF is short-hand for a set of common tropical ornamentals that have been moved around the world such that you expect to see them virtually everywhere. A relative sent the Phactor a set of pictures from Hawaii because they were so excited about the plants they saw there, but not a one was native, not a one belonged there. Still some of them are quite wonderful, but maybe none has a more beautiful flower or floral fragrance than frangipani (Plumeria rubra). The specimen in our glasshouse, now in full bloom, has yellow-centered creamy white flowers; other varieties have pink to rose colored flowers. Note that the corolla lobes for a pinwheel and they are so twisted in the bud. This is a tell-tale for members of the dogbane family (now part of a lineage with the milkweeds to whom they are closely related). And frangipani does smell wonderful. My students capture the fragrance by placing several sliced open fresh floral tubes on a layer of purified vegetable fat ("Crisco") in a petri dish, covering it overnight at room temp, and then replacing the flowers each day for a few days to a week. This is a method of capturing delicate scents is called enfleurage and it can be used with rose petals or orange blossoms or butterfly ginger, whatever. After a few days the fat will be quite well scented, and by rubbing the fat on your skin, or even between your fingers, it releases the fragrance. This can be a pretty fun, low-cost activity for kids, but in the case of frangipani, do take care with the milky sap.

Friday Fabulous Flower - Frangipani

To get a fabulous flower this week of illness and snow required a trip to our teaching greenhouse to see what was enjoying the heat, humidity, and short days. Here's a great component of UTF, ubiquitous tropical flora, that was mentioned in passing the other day. The common name is frangipani (Plumeria rubra), a member of the dogbane-milkweed lineage. Dogbanes quite commonly have their corolla lobes arranged like a pin-wheel. The numerous varieties of this ornamental shrub range in flower color from deep rose to white, but the rich golden yellow with white is a favorite, and is sometimes called Mexican frangipani, which is where it is native. Now if you carefully scratch the flower's image, and smell, well, you won't get anything, but the rich perfumy fragrance is one of frangipani's best qualities, and why it is named after a famous Italian almond scented cream pastry.