Plumeria alba
Plumeria alba | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Gentianales |
Family: | Apocynaceae |
Genus: | Plumeria |
Species: | P. alba
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Binomial name | |
Plumeria alba | |
Synonyms[2] | |
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Plumeria alba is a species of the genus Plumeria (Apocynaceae). This 2-8m deciduous shrub has narrow elongated leaves, large and strongly perfumed white flowers with a yellow center. Native to Central America and the Caribbean, it is now common and naturalized in southern and southeastern Asia. It is the national flower of Laos, known as Dok Champa and the symbol of luck.
Common names
- caterpillar tree
- pagoda tree
- pigeon wood
- nosegay tree
- white frangipani
- kath golap (কাঠ গোলাপ ) (Bengali)
- champa (চাঁপা ) (Bengali)
- frangipanier à fleurs blanches (French)[3]
- Lee La Wa Dee (Thai)
- châmpéi sâ (Khmer)[3]
- hoa chăm pa (Vietnamese)
- kamboja (Indonesian)
- Dok Champa (Laotian)
- Champa (Marathi)
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.[3] 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.
Gallery
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Flowers -
Illustration -
Foliage with Pseudosphinx caterpillars -
Plumeria alba flower, Bangalore, India
References
- ^ "Plumeria alba". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 24 April 2009.
- ^ "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". Retrieved June 26, 2014.
- ^ a b c Dy Phon Pauline, 2000, Plants Utilised In Cambodia, printed by Imprimirie Olympic, Phnom Penh
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Wikispecies-logo.svg/34px-Wikispecies-logo.svg.png)
- National Tropical Botanical Garden Plant Database
- The Plants of Saint Lucia: Wild Flowering Plants
- Plumeria alba (White Frangipani), University of Florida