Plumeria alba

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Plumeria alba
Plumeria alba2709449426.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Plumeria
Species:
P. alba
Binomial name
Plumeria alba
Synonyms [3]
  • Plumeria revolutifoliaStokes

Plumeria alba is a species of flowering plant in the genus Plumeria native to Puerto Rico and the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. It is commonly known as West Indian jasmine, white frangipani plant, nosegay tree. [4] It is a small deciduous tree and has been planted in tropical regions worldwide.

Contents

Common names

Description

Plumeria alba is a small, rounded deciduous tree, growing up to 25 feet (7.6 metres) tall. [4] Flowers are fragrant, with five petals that are white in color and with a yellow center. [4] The flowers bloom in clusters at the ends of branches. Leaves are simple, [7] green and oblong to lanceolate in shape, [4] with entire margins and alternate in arrangement. [7] Leaves are up to 12 inches (30 centimetres) long and grow in a spiral arrangement near the tips of stems. [4] Branches are gray to green in color, upright and grow closely at the trunk to form a vase shape with age. They release a milk sap when bruised or punctured. [7]

Etymology

The genus name is a reference to Charles Plumier, a French monk who was a botanist and traveller. The Latin specific epithet "alba" means white. [4]

Uses

P. alba is often cultivated as an ornamental plant. In Cambodia pagodas especially choose this shrub, with the flowers used in ritual offerings to the deities, they are sometimes used to make necklaces which decorate coffins. [5] In addition, the flowers are edible and eaten as fritters, while the heart of the wood is part of a traditional medical preparation taken as a vermifuge or as a laxative.

References

  1. ↑ IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group; Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) (2022). "Plumeria alba". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2022 e.T208165050A208357728. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T208165050A208357728.en . Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  2. ↑ "Plumeria alba". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens . Retrieved 24 April 2009.
  3. ↑ "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species" . Retrieved June 26, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Plumeria alba - Plant Finder". www.missouribotanicalgarden.org. Retrieved 2025-11-18.
  5. 1 2 3 Dy Phon, Pauline (2000). Plants used in Cambodia. Phnom Penh: Chez l'auteur, printed by Imprimirie Olympic. OCLC   47148447.
  6. ↑ "White Plumeria in Tagalog".
  7. 1 2 3 Gilman, Edward F.; Watson, Dennis G. (October 1994). "Plumeria alba White Frangipani" (PDF). Retrieved 18 November 2025.
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