Plumeria (common name Frangipani) is a genus of flowering plants in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae. It contains primarily deciduous shrubs and small trees. They are native to Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean, and South America as far south as Brazil but can be grown in tropical and sub-tropical regions. The genus is named in honor of the seventeenth-century French botanist Charles Plumier, who traveled to the New World documenting many plant and animal species. The common name frangipani comes from a sixteenth-century marquess of the noble family in Italy who invented a plumeria-scented perfume. Many English speakers also simply use the generic name plumeria.
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