Nerium oleander Linnaeus 1753

Although it makes a wonderful display for large specimen plantings or landscape gardens Nerium oleander Linnaeus 1753 (synonym Nerium indicum Miller) has its reputation dented by the numerous poisonous plant allegations no wonder as it belongs to the Apocynaceae family, well known for including some of the most poisonous plants of the world (1). As someone once wrote the oleander has suffered from poor press; however, it still is highly valued by some growers and due to the many existing forms, cultivars and hybrids even an International Oleander Society has been established. As old-fashioned cottage gardens can be still often seen in New Zealand this plant is widespread in warmer parts of the country and managed to establish even in very small wild populations. The vernacular name used here is oleander, no other fancy names have been used here, but in other parts of the world (mainly in Spanish and Portuguese cultures) there are a number of colourful vernacular names in use (of course other than derivates of oleander): Flor de Sao Jose (Brazil), Loureiro Rosa (Brazil), Espirradeira (Brazil), Rosa Francesa (Cuba), Rosa Laurel (Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay), Adelfa (Puerto Rico, Spain), Alheli Extranjero (Puerto Rico), and many other names. This gives a hint of the popularity of this plant and also that it is naturalized in many parts of the world.

1. A Nerium oleander shrub on Rangitoto Island, between the Islington Bay wharf and Yankee wharf. Page 1

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Nerium oleander is a much-branched evergreen shrub (2) growing up to 2 6 m high and forming a very symmetric canopy (3) with a smooth outline up to 4 m wide. The stems are grayish and are extremely tough. The leaves are simple, opposite to sub-opposite, 75 300 mm long (usually 80 150 mm long), 10 40 mm wide, narrow-elliptic to linear-elliptic, whorled around the stems, glossy dark green on the upper side and lighter underneath, with prominent mid-ribs, lateral veins numerous, parallel and conspicuous below. The sweetly scented five lobed flowers are in terminal clusters, having a long tube, mostly light pink to rose, but in some plants from white to pink and red, or even yellow or orange in some plants, mostly single but in some plants even semi-double, flower buds are usually shining red. The corolla is 35 50 mm long, the lobes are 25 30 mm long, obovate and slightly asymmetric, and the corona is deeply laciniate. The fruits have a very uncommon form and are up to 180 mm long, pods are green becoming brownish when ripe, and split to release airborne seeds. However, seeds are formed only when at least two plants are growing closely.

2. Only meters away the lava blocks were covered by Sedum album (left) and scattered Crassula coccinea seeking for shelter next to young Metrosideros excelsa scrubs dominating the landscape (right). Nerium oleander is one of the easiest shrubs to grow and it became very popular in some warmer parts of the world. As it is not demanding, does not need fertilizers or special soils (grows even in compacted substrates) and it thrives if given any sunny spot. The only real care that has to be taken is to pull out from time to time its suckers while young because it drains the energy of the mother plant and this is reflected by poor flowering. It is easily propagated by cuttings and rooted suckers. Seeds germinate also readily, however I think it is the harder way to propagate this plant unless you have a real call for this kind of propagation. Several cultivars have been developed in time, in single, semi-double and double flower versions, most of them capitalizing on subtle colour variations of the flowers or sophisticated peach or apricot tones. There are also some dwarf cultivars of this architectural plant and even variegated forms. A total of 400 cultivars have been named. Nerium oleander originates from the Mediterranean basin, including North Africa, and Southwest to South Asia (4) but has been widely cultivated and has been deliberately introduced managed to escape cultivation in warmer regions of Asia (mainly southeast and east), South America, North America Page 2

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(worth mentioning the USA, also possibly Mexico), Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand. It prefers warm areas and loves being kept rather on the dry side, prefers sunny spots but can take also some shade, not too much as it loses the compact growth forms and becomes a bit lanky. It typically occurs around dry stream beds. Sub-tropical climate with alternating periods of moderate draught and humidity sprees is best suited for this plant.

3. The wonderful flowers of Nerium oleander. It prefers frost free areas, although some of the cultivars are hardy to -6 or even -10 degrees Celsius, some plants may be damaged by this kind of temperatures, however, even if foliage and young shoots die back, if frost is not too persistent the plants will survive and eventually regenerate. However, the dwarf varieties appear to be frost tender. Poor soil shouldnt be a concern, Nerium oleander comes better off than most of the shrubby plants, it also gaps very well moderate draught periods. It takes also very well a moderate marine exposure, with all that comes with it especially salt spray or slight exposure to brackish water, even alkaline soils do not harm this outstanding plant. In milder climates it flowers almost all year round. Oleander seeds germinate easily with no pretreatment, plants can also be divided; soft-wood cuttings can be easily rooted. It is a trouble free plant, none of the common plant pests have been observed (no wonder as it is poisonous for most animals and insects) except for the Oleander Caterpillar, which can ruin the foliage of an entire plant. Page 3

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As I already mentioned Nerium oleander has had its portion of bad press simply because it is a poisonous plant. However, we cannot deny the architectural and landscaping qualities of this plant, the somewhat old-fashioned charm of its flowers, and therefore we have to understand why some people simply love oleanders. We have to be aware of this fact, to pay a bit of attention when we work with this kind of plants and avoid any culinary temptations (5). If we know all this and still insist in chewing some leaves or bite on succulent shoots, then we have a problem of a different nature, dont blame Nerium oleander. Of course, children have to be trained not even to touch the plant in order to avoid any harm, but I wouldnt worry about the pets as these have usually better instincts than us humans.

4. Nerium oleander same plant, same location. All parts of the plant are poisonous, from roots to stems, from leaves to flowers and seeds, including the smoke if we try to burn them. Now, thats a thing to be aware of! Many experiments have been made in time, and there is now common knowledge that chewing or simply biting the leaves a couple of times can lead to severe intoxication (in extreme cases followed by death), that even dry leaves are toxic, that cattle, horses and sheep being experimentally poisoned have died, etc. Humans have even died after eating meat that was skewered with oleander stems. The clinical symptoms start usually with gastrointestinal signs like nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea, continued with cardiovascular signs like bradycardia, atrioventricular block, in severe cases even ventricular Page 4

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tachycardia and fibrillation; associated neurological symptoms include tremor, drowsiness and ataxia. Hypotension and unconsciousness may also occur. Nerium oleander is a very tough and resistant plant, but on occasion a sudden sickness has been observed with no apparent causes. In this case the affected plants generate from the stems and shallow roots oil (6) in significant quantities that saturates the soil in the proximity of the plant as the sickness progresses. As Nerium oleander is extremely popular in Latin cultures this oil (olea in Latin) might be the explanation for the common name of the plant. Very interesting, some insects are not affected at all by the poisonous compounds of the plant the best example is the Oleander Caterpillar (Syntomeida epilais) which can ruin its foliage within a couple of weeks if in great numbers, but also the young of the Oleander or Polka-dot Wasp Moth (Syntomeida epilais) and the larvae of the Oleander or Common Crow Butterfly (Euploea core) are not harmed. The latter even retain the oleander toxins making themselves unattractive for bird predators.

5. Nerium oleander a classic beauty; few people would actually suspect judging only by appearance that this is a highly poisonous plant.

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However, despite all evidence the oleander had some medicine uses since ancient times. Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia written circa AD 77 claimed that despite its toxicity it was an effective snakebite cure if taken in wine with rue. Pharmaceutical products have been developed in the 1930s and in the former USSR oleandrin solutions and tablets were in use even much later; however, preparations containing the poisonous principles were used mainly as rodenticides and insecticides. Even nowadays reportedly a wide range of treatments are promoted on the Internet, which is irresponsible to say the least. Nerium oleander has a moderate range in New Zealand, being naturalized only in the warmest parts of the country - Northland, greater Auckland and the Kermadec group of islands (Raoul Island in particular). It doesnt occur in great numbers, but more or less isolated plants and doesnt seem to pose any threat for natural habitats. I dont think that control is necessary in this case and Nerium oleander will probably remain just a colourful addition to the native flora. As I am not particularly interested in shrubs and trees I havent noticed this plant in natural environments until I saw it on Rangitoto Island, Hauraki Gulf. The few plants seen here are definitely garden relics, although there is at least one of them (the oleander pictured here) which was quite far and isolated from any of the former gardens or baches, along the coastal track between Islington Bay wharf and Yankee wharf and this one caught my attention.

References:
http://ag.arizona.edu/pima/gardening/aridplants/Nerium_oleander.html; Christine Ashe & Don Herbison-Evans in Flowers of Australia (update 2007); Edward F. Gilman & Dennis G. Watson Nerium oleander (1994) a fact sheet for the Environmental Horticulture Department, Institute of Food and Agricultural Services, University of Florida; Jacqueline Hriteau - Complete Trees, Shrubs & Hedges (2005); Dr. A. Laborde Nerium oleander (1989), general edit and botanical review Christine Leon 1997 ex International Programme on Chemical Safety, Poisons Information Monograph (1997) http://www.inchem.org/documents/pims/plant/pim366.htm#SubSectionTitle:3.1.2%20%20Habitat; David Morgan Nerium oleander (2000) ex GreenBeam Pro http://www.greenbeampro.com/content/view/1478/45/; New Zealand Plant Conservation Network (NZPCN - http://www.nzpcn.org.nz/exotic_plant_life_and_weeds/detail.asp?WeedID=843; Jack Scheper Nerium oleander (1996, updated 2001) ex Floridata http://www.floridata.com/ref/N/nerium.cfm; W. G. Sheat & Gerald Schofield - The Complete A - Z of Gardening in New Zealand (1995, ed. 1999);

C.J Webb, W.R. Sykes & P.J. Garnock-Jones - Flora of New Zealand, Vol. 4, 1988 (ex the updated electronic version, 2004,
http://www.floraseries.landcareresearch.co.nz/pages/Index.aspx); Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oleander; Wildflowers of Tucson, Arizona - http://www.fireflyforest.com/flowers/pinks/pink12.html.

My Notes:
(1) (2) Aponynaceae actually includes the most poisonous plant - Adenia digitata. For some reason it is sometimes considered a tree, but I havent seen any oleander displaying distinct single stems. However, I am reading that it can be trained to have a main trunk or a short central leader whatever this could mean.

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(3) (4)

All individuals have more or less identical crown forms. Some variations occur in different authors; Huxley & al. (1992 referred in Wikipedia) state that Nerium oleander is native to a broad area from Morocco and Portugal eastward throughout the Mediterranean region to southern Asia including southern parts of China. Nerium oleander can cause gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and neurobiological symptoms. The main toxic substance group is the glycoside, one of them being intensively studied the oleandrin, which can lead to cardiac arrhythmia and can be lethal. There are doubts regarding the toxicity of this oil.

(5)

(6)

Eduart Zimer, April 2009

http://eduart.page.tl/Home.htm

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