| 1. According to Mexican myth the gods were born | | | | often planted near temples and graveyards, where |
| from Frangipani flowers. | | | | the fresh flowers fall daily upon the tombs. |
| 2. Frangipani (Plumeria) is very rare in China, and even | | | | 14. In Vietnam the frangipani is used for its healing |
| more precious than orchids. So, when a person gives | | | | qualities: the bark, mashed in alcohol, prevents skin |
| frangipani flowers to a sweetheart, it is the closest | | | | inflammation. It is also used to treat indigestion and |
| thing to saying you're special, I love you in a culture | | | | high blood pressure, while the roots have purgative |
| where expression of personal feelings is frowned | | | | effects on animals and the milk-like sap serves as a |
| upon. | | | | balm for skin diseases. The white flowers are used in |
| 3. The colorful caterpillar of Pseudosphinx tetrio feeds | | | | traditional medicine to cure high blood pressure, |
| predominantly on the leaves of Plumeria rubra | | | | haemophilia, cough, dysentery and fever. |
| (frangipani). | | | | 15. In Malay folklore the scent of the frangipani is |
| 4. "Warming" oils -- such as those from frangipani are | | | | associated with a vampire, the pontianak. |
| said to have a calming influence on those suffering | | | | 16. In modern Polynesian culture, the frangipani can |
| from fear, anxiety, insomnia or tremors, according to | | | | be worn by women to indicate their relationship |
| the principles of Ayurveda, a 5,000-year-old Indian | | | | status - over the right ear if seeking a relationship, |
| holistic science that seeks to balance mind, body and | | | | and over the left if taken. |
| spirit. | | | | 17. Frangipani trees were once considered taboo in |
| 5. Frangipanis are good hosts for dendrobium orchids. | | | | Thai homes because of superstitious associations |
| 6. According to Vietnamese myth, ghosts live in trees | | | | with the plant's Thai name, lantom, which is similar to |
| with white and fragrant flowers including the | | | | ratom, the Thai word for sorrow. As a result, |
| frangipani. In Vietnam and China the colour white is | | | | frangipanis were thought to bring unhappiness. |
| associated with death and funerals. | | | | Today, however, the blossoms are presented as |
| 7. In Hindu culture, the flower means loyalty. Hindu | | | | fragrant offerings to Buddha and Thai people wear |
| women put a flower in their hair on their wedding | | | | them on special festival days like Songkran (Thai New |
| days to show their loyalty to their husbands. | | | | Year). |
| 8. There is a theory that Catholic missionary priests | | | | 18. The frangipani is the national flower of Nicaragua |
| spread frangipanis around the world as they travelled. | | | | and it features on some of their bank notes. |
| This may explain why the frangipani is so popular and | | | | 19. The name, frangipani, comes from the Italian |
| common in the Philippines and Thailand but very rare | | | | nobleman, Marquis Frangipani, who created a perfume |
| in China and Vietnam. Thailand and the Philippines | | | | used to scent gloves in the 16th century. When the |
| welcomed the Christian missionaries while, in China | | | | frangipani flower was discovered its natural perfume |
| and Vietnam, they were persecuted until around the | | | | reminded people of the scented gloves, and so the |
| 1850s. | | | | flower was called frangipani. Another version has it |
| 9. The frangipani is regarded as a sacred tree in Laos | | | | that the name, frangipani, is from the French |
| and every Buddhist temple in that country has them | | | | frangipanier which is a type of coagulated milk that |
| planted in their courtyards. | | | | the Plumeria milk resembles. |
| 10. Frangipanis won't burn except in extreme | | | | 20. The name, Plumeria, is attributed to Charles |
| temperatures (over 500 degrees). | | | | Plumier, a 17th Century French botanist who travelled |
| 11. In Caribbean cultures the leaves are used as | | | | to the New World documenting many plant and |
| poultices (a healing wrap) for bruises and ulcers and | | | | animal species, although according to author Peter |
| the latex (sap) is used as a liniment for rheumatism. | | | | Loewer (The Evening Garden: Flowers and Fragrance |
| 12. The frangipani is also associated with love in feng | | | | from Dusk Till Dawn; Timber Press, 2002) Plumier |
| shui. | | | | was not the first to describe Plumeria. That honour |
| 13. In India the frangipani is a symbol of immortality | | | | goes to Francisco de Mendoza, a Spanish priest who |
| because of its ability to produce leaves and flowers | | | | did so in 1522. |
| even after it has been lifted out of the soil. It is | | | | |