It is native to the Neotropics, but widely cultivated for its ornamental and fragrant flowers around the world, where suitably warm climate exists.

[4] Its specific epithet "obtusa" means "blunt", in reference to its blunt-tipped leaves.

[5] Plumeria obtusa is a small tree, growing 3.0–4.6 m (10–15 ft) tall.

[5] Plumeria obtusa is native to the West Indies (including the Bahamas and the Greater Antilles), southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Florida in the United States.

[8] In traditional medicine used in that country, a decoction of the bark is given in varying doses as a purgative or as a remedy against oedema.