The flower varies from almost white to yellow, with yellow centers. Another species with rich, cerise, colored flowers is the _Plumeria rubra_. These two have crossed and produced a wide range of flowers with pink or peach colorings. One hybrid, of particularly striking apricot color was produced by Gerrit Wilder. A specimen may be seen on Manoa Road near the top of Punahou hill.
The Plumeria tree has a few stiff, blunt branches. At their tips, the clusters of flowers appear in early spring, when the tree is still bare, creating a highly picturesque effect. A little later the foliage appears and the tree continues to bloom the rest of the year. The flowers have five, waxy petals joining in a short tube. The leaves, which also cluster toward the tips of the branches, are very long and pointed at each end, hence the name acutifolia. When cut, the stems exude a milky juice.
This tree is a member of the Periwinkle family.
BE-STILL. YELLOW OLEANDER _Thevetia nereifolia Jussieu_
A small tree, holding a scattering of trumpet-shaped, yellow flowers and marked by shimmering, narrow, light green leaves, is popularly called the Be-still tree. There seems to be no reason for this name, unless it is that the slender leaves are never still and the name is a sort of invocation. The flowers are a clear, satiny, yellow, with a delightful fragrance. They grow here and there all over the tree, and at all times of the year. A less common variety has pale, orange-colored flowers. The fruit is a nut which is poisonous. Green at first it turns brown, then black.
The tree never becomes very large, twenty feet being about its maximum height. It always has a fresh look, even when growing in dry places, due to the light color of the leaves. The slender foliage suggests that of the Oleander (Nerium), accounting for its specific name of _nereifolia_, and this association also accounts for the common name of Yellow Oleander, which, however, is entirely wrong.
The tree is a member of the Periwinkle family and a native of tropical America. (Plate II)
AFRICAN TULIP TREE _Spathodea campanulata Beauvois_
Large, fiery red flowers, like cups of molten metal, crown the high branches of the African tulip tree. This tree differs from many of the flowering trees in Hawaii by producing its flowers all the year round. There is a season in midwinter when they seem to be brightest and most numerous, but this may be due merely to lack of competition.