In Bloom: Plumeria

Plumeria, also known as Frangipani and Flor de Mayo, is native to Mexico. In the Riviera Nayarit, it blooms in the spring and their beautiful fragrant flowers range from white and yellow to pink. Plumeria are deciduous plants so they drop their leaves in the fall and winter months. If you see one during the winter, you might actually think it was dead because when it goes dormant the tree is nothing but a bare stick figure with shiny grey bark. Plumeria is part of the Apocynaceae family and is related to Oleander, Mandevilla, Desert Rose and Star Jasmine, all of which have a poisonous milky sap if ingested. Each of the 7-8 species has different shaped leaves and while their form and growth habits are distinct, they typically grow 4-8 meters tall. Their flowers are most fragrant at night and they are easily propagated from cuttings.

I found several different varieties in the Jaltemba Bay area…

This gorgeous yellow and white Plumeria, and the one in the photo above, come from two different varieties found in the Zona Residencial in Guayabitos.

This beautiful pink Plumeria is planted in the courtyard at Mar y Sol Hotel (next to Los Tulipanes Restaurant) located on Avenida del Sol Nuevo in Rincon de Guayabitos. I spotted several more pink ones on the way to Las Varas last week as well.

Written by Allyson Williams at JaltembaBayLife.com, a community website for Rincon de Guayabitos, La Penita and Los Ayala