Plant Name
Scientific Name: Nerium oleander
Common Name: Oleander
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Perennial, Evergreen
Growth Habit: Tree, Shrub
Arizona Native Status: Introduced. This naturalized and widely cultivated garden and landscaping plant is native to the Mediterranean region.
Habitat: Riparian. It grows in rocky desert washes and in other locations where it can get some extra water.
Flower Color: Pink, White, Red, Yellow
Flowering Season: Spring, Summer, Fall
Height: To 12 feet (3.7 m) tall
Description: The flowers are clustered at the branch tips. The individual flowers are funnel-shaped, up to 2 inches (5 cm) across, and have 5 lobes. The flowers are followed by long, slender, 2-lobed seedpods that split open when ripe to release the seeds. The leaves are dark green, leathery, and lanceolate or narrowly elliptical in shape.
Special Characteristics
Poisonous – The plants and especially the leaves and stems are highly poisonous and contain toxic nerioside, oleandroside, saponins, and cardiac glycosides.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Asteridae
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae – Dogbane family
Genus: Nerium L. – oleander
Species: Nerium oleander L. – oleander
More About This Plant