STANDLEY TEEES AND SHRUBS OF MEXICO. 1149 



1. PLUMERIA L. Sp. PI. 209. 1753. 



Shrubs or trees with thick branches and copious milky sap ; leaves alter- 

 nate, petiolate ; flowers large, in termiual cymes ; calyx 5-cleft, eglandular ; 

 corolla salverform, with slender tube ; anthers obtuse, not appendaged, fruit 

 of 2 large divergent many-seeded follicles ; seeds flat, wingetl. 



The generic name is often written incorrectly as Plumiera and riumieria. 



Leaves pubescent beneath. Flowers white or yellow. 



Leaves oblong-linear, 1.5 to 3.5 cm. wide, the margins revolute 1. P. alba. 



Leaves elliptic to elongate-oblong, mostly 4 to 7.5 cm. wide, rlie mai'gins not 

 revolute. 

 Leaves elongate-oblong, about 5 times as long as broad__2. P. meg'apliylla. 

 Leaves mostly elliptic or elliptic-oblong, 3 times as long as broad or 



less 3. P. mollis. 



Leaves glabrous or nearly so. 



Corolla red or purple 4. P. rubra. 



Corolla white 5. P. acutifolia. 



1. Plumeria alba L. Sp. PI. 210. 1753. 



Yucatan, probably introduced and perhaps only in cultivation. Native of 

 West Indies but often cultivated elsewhere. 



Tree, 3 to S meters high ; bark gray or whitish, slightly roughened ; leaves 

 short-petiolate, 16 to 30 cm. long, obtuse or acute, glabrous and lustrous above, 

 minutely tomentulose beneath ; corolla white, about 6 cm. long ; follicles 18 

 to 20 cm. long. " Sabanicte " (Yucatfin, Maya) ; " flor de pan" (Nicaragua) ; 

 " amapola de Venus" (Central America); " aniancayo," " azuceno " (Colom- 

 bia); " lirio bianco," " lirio silvestre," " aleli bianco," " atabaiba " (Cuba); 

 " tabaiba," " tapaiba " (Porto Rico) ; "amapola" (Venezuela). 



The wood is said to be yellowish white or pale yellowish gray, compact, 

 fine-grained, and strong. The juice is said to be poisonous and caustic; it is 

 sometimes employed in the West Indies as a remedy for cutaneous and ve- 

 nereal diseases. 



2. Plumeria megaphylla A. DC- in DC. Prodr. 8 : 391. 1844. 

 Type from Puebla. 



Leaves about 30 cm. long, 5 to 7.5 cm. wide, acuminate, glabrous above, 

 puberulent or pubescent beneath along the nerves ; corolla 5 cm. long or more, 

 yellow. 



3. Plumeria mollis H. B. K. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 3: 230. 1819. 



Tepic and Jalisco to Aguascalientes and Chiapas. Type from the Orinoco 

 River. 



Leaves 12 to 23 cm. long, short-petiolate, acute or short-acuminate, acute 

 at base, glabrous above, pubescent beneath or finally glabrate ; corolla white, 

 5 to 7 cm. long ; follicles 15 to 25 cm. long. 



4. Plumeria rubra L. Sp. PI. 209. 1753. 



IPlnmcria xanthostoma Schlecht. Linnaea 8: 523. 1833. 



Yucatan, Puebla, and Chiapas, and doubtless elsewhere, at least in cultiva- 

 tion. West Indies ; Central and South America. 



Shrub or tree, 8 meters high or less, the branchlets pubescent ; leaves elliptic- 

 oblong to elliptic-obovate, 15 to 40 cm. long, acute or obtuse and short-pointed, 

 obtuse or acute at base; corolla 3.5 to 5.5 cm. long; follicles 15 to 25 cm. long, 

 about 2.5 cm. thick. "Sabanicte," " chacnicte," " nicte " (YucatAn, Maya); 

 " flor de mayo " (Yucatan, Puebla, El Salvador) ; " flor de la cruz " (Guatemahi, 



