Plumeria rubra  Plumeria rubra is a deciduous plant species belonging to the genus "Plumeria". Originally native to Mexico, Central America, Colombia and Venezuela, it has been widely cultivated in subtropical and tropical climates worldwide and is a popular garden and park plant, as well as being used in temples and cemeteries. It grows as a spreading tree to high and wide, and is flushed with fragrant flowers of shades of pink, white and yellow over the summer and autumn. "Plumeria rubra" was one of the many species first described by Carl Linnaeus, and appeared in the 1753 edition of "Species Plantarum". Its specific epithet is derived from the Latin "ruber" "red". The epithets "acuminata", "acutifolia", and "lutea" are seen, but these are invalid. Its common names include frangipani, red paucipan, red-jasmine, red frangipani, common frangipani, temple tree, or simply plumeria. The common name “frangipani” comes from an Italian noble family, a sixteenth-century marquess of which invented a plumeria-scented perfume. The genus name honors Charles Plumier, who was a French monk of the Franciscan order, and a botanist. In Mexico the common name is "cacaloxóchitl" or "cacaloxúchitl". The name comes from Nahuatl and means “crow’s flower”. "P. rubra" was declared the national flower of Nicaragua in 1971, where it is known as "sacuanjoche". In Spanish, frangipanis are also referred to as "alhelí", "alhelí cimarrón", and "suche". The term "melia" is a Hawaiian one. In the Cook Islands, it is known as "tipani". It is grown extensively in southern and western parts of India, where it is named "champa" or a derivative thereof such as "chaaphaa", "champige" etc. It is also referred to as "champa" in Pakistan. In Cambodia it is given the names "châmpéi krahâ:m" (also romanised as "krahom", meaning 'red'), or "châmpéi slük sruëch", while the French term for the species is "frangipanier à fleurs rouges."