Eggplant is a deciduous shrub or small tree of the genus Eggplant in the family Oleaceae, scientific name Plumeria.rubra.var.acutifolia, alias Maine gardenia, egg yolk flower. Native to the West Indies and America, now all over the world tropical and subtropical areas. Blooms in summer, fragrant and elegant, suitable for tropical area courtyard arrangement, also can be potted ornamental.

Cymes terminal, calyx lobes small, corolla tube, diameter 5 ~ 6 cm, petals 5, ovoid, overlapping at the base, outside the milky white, bright yellow center, like egg white wrapped in egg yolk, hence the name. Filament short, fragrant, dried flowers can be brewed tea. There are also saffron egg flower (scientific name P. rubra), buds and petals outside red, is the original species of egg flower. The flowering period is from April to October. Follicles are double, 10 to 20 centimeters long. Seeds obliquely oblong, flattened, 2 centimeters long, 1 centimeter wide, with membranous wings at the tip, wings about 2 centimeters long. Trees up to 5 m tall, main trunk not straight, often twisted and crooked, branchlets stout, fleshy, with latex. Leaves alternate, stalked, often clustered at the top of branches, ovoid or oblong-lanceolate, 20-45 centimeters long, apical short acuminate, base obliquely cuneate, smooth or hairy on the back of the leaf, entire.

Light-loving, like high temperature and humidity. Suitable growth temperature of 23 ~ 30 ℃, summer can withstand extreme high temperatures of 40 ℃, not cold, temperatures below 15 ℃ below the beginning of leaf fall dormant, in Shenzhen almost all leaf fall, in Sanya did not see leaf fall. Drought-resistant, afraid of flooding. Prefer loose, acidic sandy loam rich in organic matter, with a certain degree of alkaline resistance.