Content
- characteristics
- Habitat and distribution
- Applications
- Plagues and diseases
- References
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 it has very showy flowers. It is a small tree approximately 10 meters high. The crown of this tree is rounded, and it is practically as wide as the whole tree is tall.
This tree ranges naturally from southern Mexico to northern South America. But nevertheless, P. rubra It is a plant that is grown in tropical and subtropical regions around the world.
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. TheP. rubra it 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
The P. rubra It is easily identifiable by its attractive reddish spiral-shaped flowers with a striking appearance. In turn, it is a plant that grows in an arboreal way and that has a straight trunk.
The leaves of the cacalosúchil, on the other hand, are hypostomatic, since the stomata are only perceived on the underside of the leaf blade. Furthermore, 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.
P. rubra develops flat-topped 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 they are hermaphrodites with the ability to self-pollinate. Anthesis, meanwhile, is synchronous, requiring 2 to 3 hours 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.
The fruits of Plumeria rubra they are linear, oblong or elliptical follicles. While the seeds are oblong or lanceolate, flat-convex, winged, and thin.
Habitat and distribution
Plumeria rubra It is a plant that is widely distributed from the rocky cliffs of the sea to the upper elevations of several 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 It 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 cacalosuchil tends to colonize are tropical evergreen, deciduous and sub-deciduous forests.
During dry spells, P. rubra It requires constant irrigation, since it is a plant with constant water requirements. Also, this makes it easier for growers to get more rigorous and long-lasting flowers.
Applications
Plumeria rubra It 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.
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.
It has been reported on multiple occasions that Plumeria rubra It has been used in the traditional medicine of various populations in Asia and Latin America. According to the inhabitants of these regions, cacalosúchil has healing 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 to treat asthma, constipation, promote flowering and reduce 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 It contains various phytocomponents such as cytotoxic iridoids, plumerins, triterpenes and various volatile components, with curative and antibiotic properties.
Plagues and diseases
The trees of Plumeria rubra they are easy to propagate, since the only abiotic condition that limits them is cold.
From the phytopathological point of view, the plants of P. rubra They 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 drill (Lagocheirusobsoletus), which can cause the loss of branches of an entire tree.
Necrotrophic fungi like Botrytis sp. can infect and therefore distort the growth pattern of the flowers of P. rubra. Rust fungi (Coleosporium domingense Y C. plumeriae) can infect various parts of the cacalosúchil.
References
- Aguoru, C.U., Abah, O.P., Olasan, O.J. 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, W.H., Abe, J.P., Yamaoka, Y., Haung, J.W., Kakishima, M. 2006. First report of plumeria rust disease caused by Coleosporium plumeriae in Taiwan. Plan Pathology. 55: 306.
- Criley, R.A. 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, W.A. 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, D.W. 1994. Seashore Plants of South Florida and the Caribbean: A Guide to Knowing and Growing Drought- And Salt-Tolerant Plants. Pineapple Press.
- Weeraratne, T.P., Adikaram, N.K.B. 2006. Biology of Plumeria leaf rust disease caused by Coleosporium plumeriae. Cey. J. Sci. (Bio. Sci.) 35 (2):157-162.
- Zahid, K.A.G., Patel, K.A., Subur, M.N.F. 2010. Plumeria rubra Linn .: an indian medicinal plant. International Journal of Pharmacy & Therapeutics, 1(2): 116-119
