Hawaiian islands abound with lush vegetation and colourful flora. From the thousand-limbed banyan tree to the dreamy fragrance of plumeria, from dense bamboo forests to multi-coloured varieties of hibiscus, from the macadamia plantations to the cone ginger flowers, from the… you get the idea. Today’s first instalment of the Maui Flora: the plumeria, symbol of the “romantic tropics.” Once you’ve allowed the scent of a plumeria to enchant you, you will never forget the experience or the perfume.
Plumeria blooms are found in flowering bushes or on the tips of the branches of a leafless tree. The flower is used extensively in the composition of the Hawaiian lei, and worn as a single bloom in a woman’s hair, behind the ear: the right ear if she’s “taken,” the left if she’s “available.”
