According to Mexican mythology, the gods were born from Frangipani flowers.
Frangipani (Plumeria) is very rare in China, and even more precious than orchids. So when a person gives frangipani flowers to a loved one, it is the closest thing to saying you are special i love youu in a culture where the expression of personal feelings is frowned upon.
The colorful caterpillar Tetrian pseudosphinx feeds efficiently on leaves plumeria rubra (frangipani).
“Warm” oils, such as frangipani oils, are said to have a calming influence on those suffering from fear, anxiety, insomnia or tremors, according to the principles of Ayurveda, a 5,000-year-old Indian holistic science that seeks to balance mind, body and spirit.
Frangipanis are good hosts for dendrobium orchids.
According to Vietnamese myth, ghosts live in trees with fragrant white flowers, including frangipani. In Vietnam and China the color white is associated with death and funerals.
In Hindu culture, the flower means loyalty. Hindu women put a flower in their hair on their wedding day to show their loyalty to their husbands.
There is a theory that Catholic missionary priests scattered frangipanis around the world while traveling. This may explain why frangipani is so popular and common in the Philippines and Thailand, but very rare in China and Vietnam. Thailand and the Philippines welcomed Christian missionaries while in China and Vietnam they were persecuted until around the 1850s.
The frangipani is considered a sacred tree in Laos and all Buddhist temples in that country have them planted in their courtyards.
Frangipanis will not burn except in extreme temperatures (over 500 degrees).
In Caribbean cultures the leaves are used as a poultice (a healing wrap) for bruises and ulcers and the latex (sap) is used as a liniment for rheumatism.
The frangipani is also associated with love in feng shui.
In India, the frangipani is a symbol of immortality due to its ability to produce leaves and flowers even after being dug from the ground. It is often planted near temples and cemeteries, where fresh flowers fall daily on graves.
In Vietnam, frangipani is used for its healing qualities: the bark, crushed in alcohol, prevents skin inflammation. It is also used to treat indigestion and high blood pressure, while the roots have purgative effects on animals and the milky sap serves as a balm for skin diseases. The white flowers are used in traditional medicine to cure high blood pressure, hemophilia, cough, dysentery, and fever.
In Malay folklore, the scent of the frangipani is associated with a vampire, the pontianak.
In modern Polynesian culture, women may wear the frangipani to indicate their relationship status: over the right ear if they are seeking a relationship, and over the left if they take it.
Frangipani trees were once considered taboo in Thai homes due to superstitious associations with the plant’s Thai name, lantomwhich is similar to relationship, the Thai word for pain. As a result, frangipanis were thought to bring unhappiness. Today, however, the flowers are presented as fragrant offerings to the Buddha and used by Thais on special holidays such as Songkran (Thai New Year).
The frangipani is the national flower of Nicaragua and appears on some of its banknotes.
The name, frangipani, comes from the Italian nobleman Marquis Frangipani, who created a perfume used to perfume gloves in the 16th century. When the frangipani flower was discovered, the natural scent of it reminded people of scented gloves, so the flower was named frangipani. Another version says that the name, frangipani, is from the French frangipani which is a type of coagulated milk that resembles Plumeria milk.
The name, Plumeria, is attributed to Charles Plumier, a 17th century French botanist who traveled to the New World documenting many species of plants and animals, although according to author Peter Loewer (The Evening Garden: flowers and fragrances from dusk to dawn; Timber Press, 2002) Plumier was not the first to describe Plumeria. That honor goes to Francisco de Mendoza, a Spanish priest who did it in 1522.
