Plumeria rubra or cacalosúchil (common name) is a species of deciduous ornamental tree that belongs to the Apocynaceae family. It is a native plant of Mexico, Central America, Colombia and Venezuela, and has very showy flowers. It is a small tree approximately 10 meters high. The crown of this tree is rounded, and is practically as wide as the entire tree is tall.
This tree ranges naturally from southern Mexico to northern South America. However, P. rubra is a plant that is grown in tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world.
Plumeria rubra. Source: Pixabay
Due to the attractive characteristics of the flowers, the cacalosúchil is a tree with great economic value, since it is used as an ornamental plant. In addition, this plant has multiple ethnobotanical properties, which is why it has been widely used for centuries in the traditional medicine of the Amerindian peoples and their contemporary descendants.
Since it is an economically important plant, it is crucial to know the natural enemies that affect its growth and establishment. The P. rubra is attacked by pathogens of different nature such as insects, fungi and bacteria. However, it is the damage caused by insects that has the greatest impact on the cultivation of this plant.
characteristics
P. rubra is easily identifiable by its reddish, spiral-shaped, attractive, and striking-looking flowers. In turn, it is a plant that grows in an arboreal way and that has a straight trunk.
Plumeria rubra adorning a garden. Source: Wikimedia commons
The leaves of the cacalosúchil, on the other hand, are hypostomatic, since the stomata are only perceived on the underside of the leaf blade. In addition, the cells of the epidermis of the adaxial surface of the leaves are hexagonal in shape, while the cell shape of the epidermis of the abaxial layer is pentagonal.
In macro terms, frangipani leaves are scattered, lanceolate to obovate in shape, numerous veins, and with an average length of 12 to 20 cm.
Cacalosúchil leaves and flowers. Source: pixabay
P. rubra develops flat-surfaced inflorescence, in which the central flowers open first, followed by the peripheral flowers. The flowers, for their part, are zygomorphic with a green calyx.
While the corolla has a red color with yellow in the center and is shaped like a tray. In turn, the stamens are near the base of the tube and have five obtuse anthers.
The flowers of P. rubra are hermaphrodites with the ability to self-pollinate. Anthesis, for its part, is synchronous, requiring 2 to 3 hours for it to occur. For their part, the flowers are fully open for almost 1600 hours. A cacalosúchil tree can produce up to 200 inflorescences with 100 buds and flowers each.
Inflorescence of P. rubra. Source: pixabay
The fruits of Plumeria rubra are linear, oblong or elliptical follicles. While the seeds are oblong or lanceolate, flat-convex, winged, and thin.
Habitat and distribution
Plumeria rubra is a plant that is widely distributed from the rocky cliffs of the sea to the upper elevations of various dry islands. It is a plant resistant to drought, but sensitive to cold. Fragipani trees require a lot of sun; however, they are shaded by other plants in many humid locations.
P. rubra is a plant that grows naturally from southern Mexico to northern South America. However, it is a species of tree introduced in various warm areas of the world, such as India and Taiwan.
The ecological units that the cacalosúchil tends to colonize are tropical evergreen, deciduous and sub-deciduous forests.
During periods of drought, P. rubra requires constant irrigation, since it is a plant with constant water requirements. In addition, this makes it easier for growers to get more rigorous and long-lasting flowers.
Applications
Plumeria rubra is widely used as an ornamental plant, due to the striking characteristics of its flowers. In India, since the late 18th century it has been used in religious ceremonies. Also, in Hawaii it is a plant used in multiple ceremonies, and its flowers are used as an ornament in cemeteries.
Plumeria rubra in a cemetery. B.navez
Cacalosúchil is a plant with high added value, due to the relationship that has existed between the tourism industry and the cultivation of this plant. So in the warmer parts of the United States and Australia, a frangipani flower exchange society was formed. In 2005 it was reported that the sale of cacalosúchil flowers reached $ 506,000 annually.
Plumeria rubra has been reported on multiple occasions to have been used in the traditional medicine of various populations in Asia and Latin America. According to the inhabitants of these regions, cacalosúchil has curative properties to combat diabetes mellitus, diarrhea, dysentery, intestinal worms, stomach pain, toothache, and earache, among other ailments.
According to traditional Indian medicine, drinking the bark and roots of P. rubra is an effective treatment for treating asthma, constipation, promoting flowering, and reducing fever.
A wide variety of investigations have focused on the search and characterization of active compounds from different parts of Plumeria rubra. Thus, the extracts of various parts of this plant have shown cytotoxic effects against different cancer cell lines. However, in humans, these effects are only known from traditional medicine.
The leaves, flowers and bark of P. rubra contain various phytocomponents such as cytotoxic iridoids, plumerins, triterpenes and various volatile components, with curative and antibiotic properties.
Plagues and diseases
Plumeria rubra trees are easy to propagate, as the only abiotic condition that limits them is cold.
From a phytopathological point of view, P. rubra plants are susceptible to several species of mites and insects, including whiteflies and mealworms.
Serious defoliation problems can be caused by a caterpillar of the hawk moth (Pseudosphinx tetrio), and the borer (Lagocheirus obsoletus), both of which can cause the loss of branches from an entire tree.
Necrotrophic fungi such as Botrytis sp. they can infect and therefore distort the growth pattern of P. rubra flowers. Rust fungi (Coleosporium domingense and C. plumeriae) can infect various parts of the cacalosuchil.
Frangipani rust (caused by Coleosporium plumeriae) on Plumeria rubra. Sam Fraser-Smith from Brisbane, Australia
References
- Aguoru, CU, Abah, OP, Olasan, OJ 2015. Systematic Descriptions and Taxonomic studies on Three (3) Species of Plumeria in North Central Nigeria. International Journal of Innovation and Scientific Research. 17 (2): 403-411.
- Chung, WH, Abe, JP, Yamaoka, Y., Haung, JW, Kakishima, M. 2006. First report of plumeria rust disease caused by Coleosporium plumeriae in Taiwan. Plan Pathology. 55: 306.
- Criley, RA 2009. Plumeria rubra: and old ornamental, a new crop. Acta Hort. 813: 183-190.
- Dey, A., Mukherjee, A. 2015. Plumeria rubra L. (Apocynaceae): Ethnobotany, Phytochemistry and Pharmacology: A Mini Review. Journal of Plant Sciences. 10 (2): 54-62.
- Haber, WA 1984. Pollination by deceit in a mass-flowering tropical tree Plumeria rubra L. (Apocynaceae). Biotropic. 16 (4): 269-275.
- Manisha, K., An, A. 2016. Review on traditional medicinal plant: Plumeria rubra. Journal of Medicinal Plants Studies. 4 (6): 204-207.
- Nellis, DW 1994. Seashore Plants of South Florida and the Caribbean: A Guide to Knowing and Growing Drought- And Salt-Tolerant Plants. Pineapple Press.
- Weeraratne, TP, Adikaram, NKB 2006. Biology of Plumeria leaf rust disease caused by Coleosporium plumeriae. Cey. J. Sci. (Bio. Sci.) 35 (2): 157-162.
- Zahid, KAG, Patel, KA, Subur, MNF 2010. Plumeria rubra Linn.: an indian medicinal plant. International Journal of Pharmacy & Therapeutics, 1 (2): 116-119