Under the spell of Plumeria in Chandigarh
Low-maintenance plant with pink, white & yellow flowers, the Plumeria tree is drought-tolerant and can be planted from seeds or cuttings.
3 min read
Plumeria Trees in a huge number at IT park Chandigarh on Saturday. (Source: Express Photo by Hardik Abrol)
A lush green ring of trees, with white flowers, merrily line the boundary wall of the Airtel office in IT Park. Move up ahead and The Lalit property has its gardens beautified with these trees, pink and white flowers looking bright under the rain soaked skies.
In Chandigarh, from roads and residences to hotels and restaurants, this medium-sized tree can be seen everywhere with white, yellow, pink and red flowers.
The Champa or Plumeria or Frangipani is a tree with a history. A genus of the flowering plants in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae, Plumeria has more than 300 varieties. A native to Central and South America, Mexico and Caribbean, these trees are naturalised in these parts and considered temple trees.
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In India, the most commonly found are the Palba (white flowers with yellow centre) and P.Rubra (deep pink with white petals). Because they continue to produce leaves and flowers even after being uprooted, Plumeria has earned the distinction of being ‘immortal’ in the Indian context.
From being associated with life and birth in Mayans, with gods in Mexico, even ghosts and sorrows to being the national tree of Laos, a sacred flower and tree for Buddhists and Muslims, the national flower of Nicaragua, to representing the relationship status of women in Hawaii (if the flower is worn on right ear, you are considered single), the Plumeria is quite popular.
The mere mention of it conjures images of Hawaii with the dancers and their leis made of Plumeria flowers. Its scent fills the air and hence is used in perfumes and warm oils and in some medicines too.
You will find an ode to it in poetry of Rabindranath Tagore, the Champa flower and many others. Even Mughal king Jahangir has written about it in the Jahangirnama.
It derives it name from the 17th century French botanist Charles Plumier. While many believe the name Frangipani comes from 16th century marquess of Italian noble family who invented Plumeria-scented perfume, some claim it also comes from the French word, Frangipanier, meaning coagulated milk. If the bark of the Plumeria is cut off, a milky white substance oozes out.
This is a low-maintenance plant. If you plant it in a pot, make sure it gets good sunlight, is well drained and watered. The tree is drought-tolerant and can be planted from seeds or cuttings.
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