Plumeria

April-May means that the frangipani is in bloom. Its scientific name is Plumeria rubra with common names: Frangipani and Temple Tree (because it can usually be seen at temple sites in Asia.) I really like the scent of these flowers which is there all the time. You pick a flower, and the scent is right there... very unlike the elusive scent from its relative, the Alstonia scholaris. Yes, both are in the same family of Apocynaceae. You can guess judging from the similarity in the structure of their leaves and the form of their flowers. But I value the scent of A. scholaris far better... simply because it is much harder to come by.

Plumeria

Miami has so many flowering plants that this tree does not get the attention it deserves. This Plumeria tree (of the Himatanthus family) belongs to a small genus of 7-8 species native to tropical and subtropical Americas. This genus consists of mainly deciduous shrubs and trees. P. rubra (commonly known as Frangipani, Red Frangipani,) native to Mexico, Central America, Southern India and Venezuela, produces flowers ranging from yellow to pink depending on a particular cultivar. From Mexico and Central America, Plumeria has spread to all tropical areas of the world, especially Hawaii, where it grows so abundantly that many people think that it is indigenous to that island state. Plumeria's flowers are most fragrant at night in order to lure sphinx moths to pollinate them. Plumeria are the most favorite flowers used for Hawaiian leis. These flowers smell so good! This tree in its deciduous months looks quite pathetic when all leaves have left its branches. In Viet-Nam, it bears a name associating it to the dreaded disease of leprosy. That is no way to treat such fragrancy!