|
Nerium oleander
|
|
|
|
Family:
APOCYNACEAE
|
|
Citation: Nerium oleander L., Sp. Pl. 209. 1753; Anil Kumar et al., Fl. Pathanamthitta 315. 2005; Sunil & Sivadasan, Fl. Alappuzha Dist. 436. 2009; Ratheesh Narayanan, Fl. Stud. Wayanad Dist. 526. 2009.
Nerium indicum Mill., Gard. Dict. (ed. 8) 2. 1786; Manilal & Sivar., Fl. Calicut 164. 1982; Mohanan, Fl. Quilon Dist. 255. 1984.
Nerium odorum Soland. in Ait., Hort. Kew (ed. 1) 1: 297. 1789; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 3: 655. 1882; Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 821(577). 1923; M. Mohanan & Henry, Fl. Thiruvanthapuram 295. 1994.
|
|
Malayalam Name(s):
Arali, Chuvanna-arali, Kanaveeram, Suprasam, Velutha-alari
|
|
Tamil name(s):
|
|
English name(s):
Oleander, Commun oleander, Indian oleander, Rose bay
|
|
Description:
An erect evergreen shrub, branches glabrous with milky juice, young branches green. Leaves 10-15 x 1-2 cm, linear-lanceolate, tapering at both ends, acuminate, thick coriaceous, midrib prominent, nerves numerous; petiole 5-7.5 mm long. Flowers white, pink or dark red, single or double in cultivated, form, fragrant 3-4 cm across, peduncle and pedicel hairy, bracts small, 5-7.5 mm long. Calyx c. 6.25 mm long, divided into 5 linear, acute lobes, hairy with gland at the base inside. Corolla tube 1.8 cm long, hairy within, throat narrow, ending in five twisted petals, tips rounded, corona of 5 scales near the throat of the corolla, cleft into 4-7 linear segments. Stamen included, filament short, Anthers connivent and adherent to stigma, connectives hairy, produced upward into long thread-like hairy appendages. Ovary with two distinct carpels, style filiform, thickened upward; stigma two lobed. Fruit 12-20 cm x 7:5 mm long.
|
|
Habit:
Shrub
|
|
Flowering & Fruiting:
November-May
|
|
District(s):
All Districts
|
|
Medicinal:
Yes
|
|
Habitat:
Grown as ornamental plant
|
|
Distribution:
From Mediterranean through Persia, Afghanistan to West Himalayas, cultivated elsewhere
|
|
Aquatic:
No
|
|
Epiphyte(s):
No
|
|
Saprophyte:
No
|
|
Stem parasite:
No
|
|
Root parasite:
No
|
|
Flower colour(s):
Pink, Rose, White
|
|
Weed:
No
|
|
Monocot/Dicot:
Dicotyledonous Plants
|
|
Exotic:
Yes
|
|
Garden:
Yes
|
|
Edible:
No
|
|
Vegetable:
No
|
|
Endemic to:
|
|
IUCN status:
|
|
Altitude:
|
|
Localities:
|