One thing Fiji has a lot of is frangipani. The flowers are highly scented during nights and often tucked behind people's ears. They are used to indicate marital status -over the right ear if looking, and over the left if taken.
The flowers have wonderful tropical essence and this is put into essential oils and soaps. Just using them makes me feel on holiday again!
It's a strange tree, hardly any leaves and the flowers on the end of short, stubby, rounded branches. The sap is also poisonous. But the scent is incredible.
They attract the sphinx moths with this scent, but it's to trick them, as they have no nectar, and the moths go from tree to tree looking for it and pollinating.
They are also called 'temple trees' and often planted there.
They are made into garlands called 'leis' in Fiji.
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