Synonyms:

• (=) Nerium indicum Mill.
• (=) Nerium odorum Aiton

Common names:

• oleander  (Source: World Econ Pl) - English
• rose bay  (Source: Dict Gard) - English
• rose-laurel  (Source: CRC MedHerbs ed2) - English
• selonsroos  (Source: Weeds SAfr 2001) - Afrikaans
• laurier rose  (Source: Dict Rehm) - French
• oleandre  (Source: Dict Rehm) - French
• Oleander  (Source: Dict Rehm) - German
• kyōchiku-tō  (Source: F JapanOhwi) - Japanese Rōmaji
• espirradeira  (Source: pers. comm.) - Portuguese (Brazil)
• oleandro  (Source: pers. comm.) - Portuguese (Brazil)
• adelfa  (Source: Dict Rehm) - Spanish
• balandre  (Source: Dict Rehm) - Spanish
• laurel rosa  (Source: pers. comm.) - Spanish
• pascua  (Source: Dict Rehm) - Spanish
• nerium  (Source: Kulturvaxtdatabas) - Swedish
• haban  (Source: L Oman) - Transliterated Arabic

Economic Importance:

• Environmental: ornamental (fide Dict Gard; Krussmann)
• Medicines: folklore (fide CRC MedHerbs ed2; Herbs Commerce ed2; Wealth India RM, as N. oleander & N. indica; Healing Pl India, as N. indica)
• Vertebrate poisons: mammals (fide Kingsbury, as N. oleander & N. indicum; Kellerman et al.; Lampe & McCann; Cooper & Johnson ed2)
• Weed: potential seed contaminant (fide Rep NCEPPC; Weeds SAfr 2001)

Distributional Range:

Native

Africa

• NORTHERN AFRICA: Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia
• WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Niger

Asia-Temperate

• ARABIAN PENINSULA: Oman, United Arab Emirates
• WESTERN ASIA: Afghanistan, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey
• CHINA: China [Yunnan]

Asia-Tropical

• INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India, [Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab] Nepal, Pakistan

Europe

• SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Albania, Croatia, Greece (incl. Crete & e. Aegean Islands), Italy (incl. Sardinia, Sicily), Malta
• SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: France (incl. Corsica), Portugal, Spain (incl. Baleares)


Cultivated (also cult.)

Naturalized (widely natzd.)

Other (exact native range obscure)

References:

1. Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource on www.skud.info). 2012 (Kulturvaxtdatabas)
2. Allan, H. H. B. et al. Flora of New Zealand. (F NZeal)
3. Berhaut, J. Flore illustrée du Senegal. (F Senegal)
4. Campbell, F. T., ed. Report of National Coalition of Exotic Plant Pest Councils. 1995 (unpublished draft) (Rep NCEPPC)
5. Cooper, M. R. & A. W. Johnson Poisonous plants and fungi in Britain: animal and human poisoning. 1998 (Cooper & Johnson ed2)
6. Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon. (F Ceylon)
7. Duke, J. A. et al. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs. 2002 (CRC MedHerbs ed2)
8. Encke, F. et al. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage. 1984 (Zander ed13)
9. Erhardt, W. et al. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen. 2008 (Zander Ency)
10. Euro+Med Editorial Committee Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource). (EuroMed Plantbase)
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13. Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14. 2003 (Pl SAfr ed2)
14. Ghazanfar, S. A. An annotated catalogue of the vascular plants of Oman. Scripta Botanica Belgica 2. 1992 (L Oman)
15. Greuter, W. et al., eds. Med-Checklist. (L Medit)
16. Grierson, A. J. C. & D. J. Long Flora of Bhutan including a record of plants from Sikkim. (F Bhutan)
17. Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. (pers. comm.)
18. Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards Flora of Ethiopia. 1989- (and Eritrea. 2000) (F Ethiop)
19. Henderson, L. Alien weeds and invasive plants: a complete guide to declared weeds and invaders in South Africa. Plant Protection Research Institute, Handbook 12. 2001 (Weeds SAfr 2001)
20. Howard, R. Flora of the lesser Antilles. (F LAnt)
21. Huxley, A., ed. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening. 1992 (Dict Gard)
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23. Kellerman, T. S. et al. Plant poisonings and mycotoxicoses of livestock in Southern Africa. 1988 (Kellerman et al.)
24. Krüssmann, G. Manual of cultivated broad-leaved trees and shrubs (English translation of Handbuch der Laubgehölze. 1976). 1984 (Krussmann)
25. Lampe, K. F. & M. A. McCann AMA handbook of poisonous and injurious plants. 1985 (Lampe & McCann)
26. Lazarides, M. & B. Hince CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia. 1993 (Econ Pl Aust)
27. León, B. 1996. pers. comm. (pers. comm.)
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29. Liogier, A. H. Flora of Hispaniola: Part 1; La Flora de la Española. Part II-. (F Hispan)
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36. Pagen, F. J. J. 1987. Oleanders: Nerium L. and the oleander cultivars Agric. Univ. Wageningen Pap. 87-2:1-113.
37. Personal Care Products Council International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient (INCI)
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Images:

• Seed: U.S. National Seed Herbarium image