Plumeria rubra L., known in Nahuatl as cacaloxóchitl, is a five-petaled flower bearing white, pink, yellow or red blossoms, which grows on trees native to the warm, semi-arid regions of Mexico and Central America. This plant is known by several names, according to the region and community, including flor de mayo (May flower) and flor de cuervo (crow flower). Its use dates back to the Pre-Hispanic period, particularly in religious and therapeutic contexts, where both the tree bark and the flowers were used. Cacaloxóchitl holds a prominent place in Mesoamerican cultural traditions due to its rich symbolic significance encompassing concepts of death, fertility and the renewal of both human and natural cycles.
Frair Bernardino de Sahagún records that, during the preparations for the festival of Tlaxochimaco (The Offering of Flowers), people gathered a variety of wildflowers from the countryside to weave thick garlands used to decorate temples and serve as offerings to Tezcatlipoca. These floral chains or stands continue to be produced during ceremonies asking for rain, (in April and May). The plant is associated with the greenness and the freshness of the landscape, with seed germination, clouds and the arrival of the first rains. In some communities in Guerrero, cacaloxóchitl is linked to ancestors, lightning and wind spirits; accordingly, floral garlands are woven and placed on altars and offerings are deposited on mountaintops. Likewise, Nahua communities in the region create crowns and necklaces to emphasize the importance of the saints and of the children who symbolically represent seeds during ritual ceremonies.
The cacaloxóchitl flower also plays a central role in therapeutic practices, used in ritual baths, ointments and incense preparations, particularly in the context of funerals. Folio 39v of the Códice De La Cruz-Badiano records its use, in combination with other plants, to treat fatigue in “the administrator of the Republic,” as well as dermatoses, micropsychia and fear-related conditions. Other documentary sources, together with contemporary ethnographic evidence, indicate a broader range of applications (bark, stems and flowers) in the treatment of “hot” illnesses, including chest pain, digestive disorders, ocular inflammations, and bone and skin ailments. These plant parts are also employed to alleviate susto (fright-related illness), melancholia, or to restore strength to women after childbirth. The root, regarded as possessing a “cold” nature, has additionally demonstrated analgesic and antispasmodic properties.