Discovering Plumerias in Hawaii and in the Philippines

Photo by ewen and donabel on Flickr

This past weekend, we took some visiting friends over to the Dole Plantation on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Just outside of the main building where all of the tourists are able to buy souvenirs, coffee, chocolates, macadamia nuts, etc., there was a Farmers' Market tent that sold fresh flower leis, sugar cane, and something that has always piqued my interest--plumeria cuttings.

I had wanted to buy some plumeria cuttings last year but decided to hold off since I was pregnant. I feared that I wouldn't be able to take good care of them. Now, we're in the process of moving to the Philippines, so I thought I'd just buy the book, "Growing Plumerias in Hawaii and Around the World" by Jim Little, with hopes of learning more about plumerias so that I could have my own plumeria collection when we get to the Philippines.

So, I have this dream of buying hectares of land in the Philippines one day. My great grandparents used to own lots of land in the Philippines until their children (and grandchildren) decided to sell the land upon inheriting it. Most of us have migrated out of the country and our parents found no reason to maintain all of that land in our absence. Now, here I am in the United States, wanting to move back to the Philippines, with hopes of being able to save up so that we can have our own farm there (the prices of real estate have skyrocketed). I envision plumerias, fruit treas, pandan leaves, bamboo, vegetables, etc.

Most likely, this won't be happening right away. We need to finish medical school, first. Before that, we need to send in our application so that we could hopefully obtain an acceptance letter from the school (on that note, we are on track with regards to being able to send those papers in this week).

For now, I can only dream...

...and do some research.

I couldn't remember what plumerias are called in the Philippines. I went online and Google did not disappoint: they are called, "kalachuchi". Then I learned that the plumeria evoked different types of emotions / superstitions in different parts of the world. After stumbling upon a blog about Philippine trees, I was reminded that the kalachuchi is also known as the "cemetery tree" over there. Yikes! I wouldn't want my future neighbors to think that I am building a cemetery! Thankfully, I also read that these flowers are widely used in Cebu, mostly at the resorts.

Alternatively, the aforementioned blog got me interested in a native, notable substitute of the plumeria, the "baraibai" (cerbera manghas). I would love to see these beautiful flowers in person! I did some additional reading and it appears to be on the list of Philippine Medicinal Plants.

Intriguing, indeed.

Here I am, preparing to move to the Philippines to study medicine. Who knows, I might just end up doing some further studies in the medicinal properties of plants.

Perhaps, I need to discipline my imagination. It takes me all over the place. Then again, it's this whole process of discovery that leads to innovation. Maybe one day, I can be a part of this innovation.


Disclaimer:  I am by no means associated with any of the organizations listed in this blog post; I am only sharing my personal experiences and findings regarding such a process. Therefore, it is prudent to visit the official websites of these organizations directly to get the most up-to-date and accurate information.