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 |
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| 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.
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