Is the frangipani a woody plant? This article introduces you to the frangipani

Other names for the frangipani

Burmese gardenia, egg-yolk flower, Indian jasmine, big season flower.

Growth habits of the frangipani

The frangipani is a sun-loving plant and likes a warm, humid environment with plenty of sunlight. Although it can also grow in semi-shade, its branches tend to grow leggy, resulting in fewer flowers or even no flowers. In a dark, damp environment, many aerial roots grow from the branches, which looks very ugly.

The frangipani is suited to growing in deep, fertile, well-aerated acidic soil rich in organic matter, so that the plant can be robust, with abundant flowers and vivid colors. When the soil is poor, the frangipani grows poorly, with small flowers and dull colors.

The frangipani has poor cold tolerance. Its most suitable growing temperature is 20~26°C, and the overwintering temperature must not be lower than 8°C, otherwise it will suffer frost damage. In the vast number of towns south of the Tropic of Cancer in China, it can overwinter outdoors; potted plants in Central China and North China must be brought indoors to overwinter in winter.

Uses of the frangipani

1. Ornamental value: The frangipani is deeply loved by people in many regions and countries. In Laos, the frangipani is designated as the national flower and is highly revered; in the tropical tourist destination Hawaii, people like to string picked frangipani flowers into wreaths as wearable decorations, so the frangipani is also a symbol of Hawaiian festivals. The frangipani tree has a beautiful shape, with many branches on the stem, odd and varied, in a thousand postures; its leaves resemble loquat leaves, and after they fall in winter, semicircular leaf scars remain on the branch tips, much like deer antlers dotted with beautiful spots. It can be called the top choice among small trees for landscaping, courtyard arrangement, and potted appreciation in tropical regions.

2. Medicinal value: The flowers of the frangipani can be used as medicine, with the effects of clearing heat and relieving summer heat, clearing the intestines and stopping diarrhea, and relieving cough and reducing phlegm. They are used to treat heatstroke, dysentery, abdominal pain, and cough. The bark is thin and grayish green, rich in toxic white sap, and can be used for external application to treat scabies, redness and swelling, and other conditions.

3. Frangipani tea: Fresh flowers can be dried in the sun for making tea, commonly known as frangipani tea. The frangipani is one of the five flowers in Guangdong's famous herbal tea, five-flower tea. It is cool in nature and sweet and bland in taste; it enters the large intestine and stomach meridians, and has the effects of moistening the lungs and detoxifying, clearing heat and removing dampness, and lubricating the intestines.

4. Other uses: Besides the white variety, the frangipani also has red and yellow types. All can be used to extract essence for making high-grade cosmetics, soap, and food additives, at a fairly high price, with great commercial development potential; they also have the effects of treating heat dysentery and moistening the lungs and detoxifying. The wood is white, light and soft, and can be used to make musical instruments, tableware, or furniture.

The flower language of the frangipani

Breeding hope, resurrection, new life.

The frangipani blooms from May to October every year. Although it has no mysterious legend, no elegant temperament, and no noble posture, it has a simple appearance, and it is precisely this simplicity that makes people feel even more full of hope.