FRANGIPANI,
Family: Plumieria rubra
This small ornamental tree
is named after a French word meaning ‘coagulated milk’.
The caustic milky sap that flows from a cut branch has
been employed in folk medicine. It is a native of the
West Indies. There is a wild bush variety, P. alba, with
white flowers. It hosts a very large caterpillar of the
Hawk Moth, (Pseudosphinx tetrio). The caterpillar is
very conspicuous with yellow bands on black and having a
red head. It feeds on the poisonous sap, thus becoming
poisonous to the birds that might eat the caterpillars.
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