Plumeria Obtusa

Plumeria obtusa (P. obtusa)

The most common Plumeria obtusa in Queensland Australia is known as the “Singapore“. While frangipani rubra is common, the Singapore frangipani is arguably the most popular frangipani in Queensland and Northern Australia. It’s easily recognized by it’s glossy green leaves and it’s larger white flower with full (obtuse) and more overlapping petals. Like other white frangipani flowers, the Singapore frangipani has a white flower with a yellow throat, round (obtuse) overlapping petals and has a strong, and possibly the strongest scent.

The frangipani with similar glossy leaves and a small pale pink flower is the Petite Pink. It gets attention because of its bonsai like appearance and because it’s a dwarf. It’s rare because it’s more delicate and a little more difficult to grow in non tropical climates.

The obtusa with a little orange flower is known as Little Rainbow.

Sometimes other frangipani species such as, P. cubensis, P. sericifolia and P. stenophylla are relegated to obtusa sub-species.

Evergreen Frangipanis

Many people call the Singapore frangipani the “evergreen frangipani” but from our experience (Noosa Hinterland acreage) they do not hold their leaves much better than the so-called deciduous frangipanis.

In fact, cubensis, sericifolia and both pudica varieties often do better than the Singapore frangipanis throughout the winter but technically speaking, all these can be considered evergreen frangipanis.

…..an evergreen is a plant that has leaves throughout the year that are always green. This is true even if the plant retains its foliage only in warm climates….

Wikipedia

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