Mar 15, 2018 - 03:18 PM
The common name plumeria comes from the name of French botanist Charles Plumier who described this tropical beauty in the 17th Century, but its scientific name, frangipani, has a more colorful history. Some claim the frangipani flowers earned their name from an Italian nobleman who made scented gloves in the 16th Century. Because the fragrance of the plumeria bloom was similar to the scent used in the gloves, they soon became known frangipani flowers. However, others claim the name was derived from the French word, frangipanier, meaning coagulated milk because of the appearance of plumeria milk.