Plumeria 'Kauka Wilder'

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Plumeria ‘Kauka Wilder’ honors Gerrit Parmile Wilder.

His Hawaiian name was “Kauka” meaning “Doctor”, a name inherited from his grandfather, Dr. Gerrit Parmile Judd.

He was born in Honolulu, November 5, 1863.

He was also widely known as a horticulturist, someone now known as a plant explorer.

His mother, Elizabeth Kinau Wilder, the oldest daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Gerrit P. Judd, was born on Hawaii in 1831 in the “Old Mission Home”, the second white child born on Hawaii.

Kauka Wilder personally made many contributions to the study of botany on Hawaii and the Pacific and leaves a further legacy with the endowment of the Wilder Chair in the University of Hawai’i at Manoa’s Botany Department.

The following picture shows Plumeria ‘Kauka Wilder’ under plant lights on January 16, 2013 in my home in Chicago.

The flowers of Plumeria ‘Kauka Wilder’ have a strong reddish-yellow color and a wide moderate red band on the back.

The petals are slightly overlapping, narrow and elliptical in shape and have pointed tips.

Flowers average three inches in diameter and have a strong sweet fragrance.

Copyright © Bob Walsh 2013

• 16 Jan, 2013
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