Bob Walsh begins the history of Plumeria, Frangipani plants with the Aztecs in 1522. He follows the famous botanist and explorer of the late 17th century who gave his name to the Plumeria, chronicles the arrival of Plumeria plants on Hawaii and concludes the history with the important part Hawaii played in making the Plumeria known to the world and contributing to its popularity today.

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2.  Plumerias are indigenious to the Caribbean,
Mexico and Central America. The very first known
description of the plumeria is found in the
Badianus Manuscript in 1522.

3.  The Badianus Manuscript is
a sixteenth century Aztec
herbal medicine book written in both
the Aztec language and Latin
by Martin Cruz and Juannes
Badianus, both Aztec Indians,
educated at the College of
Santa Cruz at Tlaltelco Mexico
City. The text is accompanied by beautifully
colored illustrations of herbs and trees.

4.  Don Francisco de Mendoza,
whose name is historically
associated with the Badianus
Manuscript, was the second
son of the first Viceroy of
New Spain, Antonio de Mendoza.
 Don Francisco de Mendoza sent
the Badianus Manuscript back to Spain as a gift to
King Charles V.

5.  Through history and individuals
connected to the Vatican the
Badianus Manuscript ended up
hidden in the Vatican Library.
 It was re-discovered there in 1929
by historian Professor Charles Clark.
In 1991 Pope John Paul II returned it to Mexico.
It is now in the Institute of Anthropology and
History in Mexico City.

6.  Plumeria, originally spelled
'Plumieria', is named after
the famous French
Franciscan monk and
botanist, Charles Plumier.
 He is considered one of
the most important botanical explorers of his time.

7.  Charles Plumier made three trips to the
Caribbean during the period of 1689 to 1697.
Upon his return from the first trip in 1690, he
received the title of “Royal Botanist” from King
Louis XIV of France.

8.  All natural scientists of his day spoke of Charles
Plumier with great admiration. The well known
French botanist and his teacher, Joseph Pitton
De Tournefort, who also traveled to the New
World with his student, joined together with Carl
Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist, physician and
zoologist, to recognize his work by deciding to
name the genus Plumeria which belongs to the
family Apocynaceae in Charles Plumier's honor.
Since then it has been called “Plumeria” with the
name of Plumeroideae for its first subfamily.

9.  Today all his texts, notes and drawings are
located in the Central Library of the National
Museum of Natural History in Paris, France.

10.  Dr. William Hillebrand,
a German physician and
botanist, who was born in
Neiheim, Germany in 1821,
lived on Hawaii from 1851 to
1871, and died in Heidelberg, Germany, in 1886.
 He is credited as the person who brought the first
plumeria to Hawaii around 1860. Today this
plumeria is known worldwide as „Celadine‟.
(See picture above)

11.  Dr. Hillebrand had a strong presence and made
significant contributions to the Hawaiian people
during his twenty year stay there. He became the
appointed physician to the royal family at The
Queen's Hospital, now the present day Queen's
Medical Center. He, along with nine other doctors,
petitioned for and was granted a charter for
today's Hawai'i Medical Association and he
served as the chief physician at the hospital from
1860 to 1871.

12.  In 1853 Dr. Hillebrand purchased 13 acres of land
from Queen Kalama and over the years he
planted a number of exotic and native trees in his
garden. Some were brought back from his travels
on behalf of the Hawaiian Government to collect
and import plants and animals that would be
useful to the Islands.

13.  Prior to his return to Germany
Dr. Hillebrand sold the property
and developed garden to
Captain Thomas and Mary
Foster.
 Years later Mary Foster
bequeathed the land to the city
of Honolulu, which opened it to the public as
Forster Botanical Garden in 1930.
Local Hawaiians and visitors from all over the
world continue to visit these beautiful gardens
today.

14.  In the 1930s the first cutting of
Plumeria obtusa was brought
to Hawaii by Harold Lyon from
the famous Singapore
Botanical Gardens, noted for
their long history of plant
research and study throughout
Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
Today this evergreen variety is known as
Plumeria obtusa 'Singapore'.
(See picture above)

15.  Mr. Lyon was the founder and director of the
Manoa Arboretum which was established in
1918 by the Hawaiian Sugar Planter's
Association, HSPA, to demonstrate watershed
restoration and test various tree
species for reforestation, as well
as collect living plants of
economic value. This unique
rainforest arboretum bears his
name, Harold L. Lyon
Arboretum, today.

16.  Bill M. Moragne Sr. was
the first to discover how to
hand-pollinate plumerias
in 1953.
 Since then countless
hybrids of spectacular
beauty with intoxicating
fragrances have been
created by the process of hand-pollination thanks
to Bill M. Moragne Sr.

17.  Unlike Mexico, the Caribbean island nations and
the Central American countries, the native habitat
of the plumeria, Hawaii has made itself
synonymous with the Plumeria by
commercializing it.

18.  Even though the plumeria is not native to the
Hawaiian Islands most of the world travelers to
these Islands have lasting memories of receiving
a lei made up of these beautifully scented tropical
flowers on their arrival or departure.

19.  The Hawaiian Islands is the number one place in
the world that people associate with the word
„plumeria'. Hawaii‟s commercialization of the
plumeria goes far beyond the famous Hawaiian
leis. It also includes the sale of plumeria seeds,
seedlings, rooted and unrooted cuttings, fresh
flowers and freshly handmade leis. Other
plumeria related products include perfumes,
scented candles, plumeria designed jewelry and
clothing, prints, photos and cards.

20.  Thanks to the Hawaiian Islands people from all
around the world have fallen in love with the
plumeria, which they first met there.
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