Martha's exotic Backyard in Israel
Cascabela thevetia, Thevetia peruviana, Cascabela peruviana, Cerbera thevetia,
Yellow oleander, Mexican oleander, Lucky Nut, Be-still Tree,
Hebrew: תבטיה הרדופית

Scientific name:		Cascabela thevetia (L.)Lippold
Synonym name:		Cascabela peruviana (Pers.) Raf., Cerbera linearifolia Stokes, Cerbera peruviana Pers., Cerbera thevetia L.,Thevetia linearis Raf., Thevetia neriifolia Juss. ex A.DC.,Thevetia neriifolia var. hirsuta Müll.Arg., Thevetia neriifolia var. leucantha Müll.Arg., Thevetia neriifolia var. pubescens Müll.Arg., Thevetia peruviana (Pers.) K.Schum., Thevetia peruviana f. aurantiaca H.St.John
Common name:		Yellow Oleander, Mexican oleander, Lucky Nut, Be-still Tree
Hebrew name:		תבטיה הרדופית
Family:		Apocynaceae, Dogbane family, הרדופיים

Life form:		Shrub or small tree up to 8 m tall
Stems:		Branchlets glabrous, with grey bark and white latex
Leaves:		Arranged spirally, simple and entire, almost sessile; stipules absent; blade linear-lanceolate, 6–15 cm × 0.5–1 cm, base decurrent into the short petiole, apex long-acuminate, leathery, lateral veins obscure
Inflorescence:		Few-flowered terminal or seemingly axillary cyme; bracts small, linear.
Flowers:		Bisexual, regular, 5-merous, faintly fragrant; pedicel 1–2 cm long; sepals ovate, c. 1 cm long, acute, spreading; corolla tube trumpet-shaped, 35–45 cm long, corona lobes small, densely pubescent, alternating with the stamens, corolla lobes broadly oblong, c. 3 cm long, overlapping, yellow to peachy pink, rarely white; stamens inserted near apex of corolla tube, included, anthers almost sessile; ovary superior, consisting of 2 carpels fused in lower half, style long and slender, pistil head consisting of a 5-ridged basal part and a cone-shaped apex.
Fruits / pods:		Fruit a depressed-globose to turnip-shaped drupe 3–4 cm in diameter, yellowish green, ripening black, 2–4-seeded within the stony endocarp. Seeds obovoid, c. 2 cm × 1.5 cm, flattened.
Flowering Period:		xx
Habitat:		Grown as an ornamental tree in gardens
Distribution:		Native of Central & South America, but now frequently grown throughout the tropical and sub-tropical regions
Chorotype:		Tropical America
Summer shedding:		Perennating

Derivation of the botanical name: Cascabela, Spanish cascabel, cascabela for a small bell, jingle bell, tinkle bell, snake's rattle, rattlesnake, possibly referring to the fruit of the flowers of these plants. thevetia commemorates André de Thevet (1516-1590), a French Franciscan priest and explorer, who explored Brazil. Cerbera, Latin, after Cerberus, a three-headed dog in Greek and Roman mythology that prevents spirits from escaping Hades, probably referring to the poisonous qualities of the plant. peruviana from Peru. The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy. The standard author abbreviation Lippold is used to indicate Hans Lippold, (1932 - 1980), a German botanist and university teacher active in Cuba. The standard author abbreviation Pers. is used to indicate Christiaan Hendrik Persoon (1761 – 1836), a South African mycologist and botanist. Because of his financial difficulties, Persoon agreed to donate his herbarium to the House of Orange, in return for an adequate pension for life. The standard author abbreviation Raf. is used to indicate Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (1783 – 1840), a naturalist, philologist, and a genius. Born in Turkey of a German mother and a French father; died in Philadelphia, USA. All parts of the plant are poisonous, especially the kernels of the fruit.