Cascabela thevetia

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Cascabela thevetia
Flowers and leaves

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Subfamily: Rauvolfioideae
Genus: Cascabela
Species:
C. thevetia
Binomial name
Cascabela thevetia
Synonyms[2]
  • Cascabela peruviana (Pers.) Raf.
  • Cerbera linearifolia Stokes
  • Cerbera peruviana Pers.
  • Cerbera thevetia L.
  • Thevetia linearis Raf.
  • Thevetia linearis A. DC.
  • Thevetia neriifolia Juss. ex A.DC.
  • Thevetia peruviana (Pers.) K.Schum.
  • Thevetia thevetia (L.) H.Karst. nom. inval.

Cascabela thevetia (

Nerium oleander
, giving it a common name yellow oleander.

Etymology

'Cascabel', 'cascavel' or 'cascabela' is Spanish for a small bell, a snake's rattle or a rattlesnake itself.

André de Thevet (1516-1590), a French Franciscan priest and explorer, who explored Brazil and Guiana[4]
(where the plant is known as chapéu-de-napoleão, ie, Napoleon's hat).

Description

Cascabela thevetia is an evergreen

tropical shrub or small tree. Its leaves are willow-like, linear-lanceolate, and glossy green in color. They are covered in waxy coating to reduce water loss (typical of oleanders). Its stem is green turning silver/gray as it ages.[5] Flowers bloom from summer to fall. The long funnel-shaped sometimes-fragrant yellow (less commonly apricot, sometimes white) flowers are in few-flowered terminal clusters.[5] Its fruit is deep red-black in color encasing a large seed that bears some resemblance to a 'Chinese lucky nut.'[clarification needed
]

Leaves and buds of yellow oleander (Cascabela thevetia) in Domjur, West Bengal, India.

Cascabela thevetia is commonly known as Kaneir or Kaner (कनेर) in Hindi language in

Andhra, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh , Odisha and Assam
where semi arid climate is prevalent.

Religious importance

Its bright yellow flowers are used for religious purposes in India. The tree is native to Mexico and thus direct references to Hindu culture are new.

Toxicity

Ripe fruit.

All parts of the C. thevetia plant are toxic to most vertebrates as they contain cardiac glycosides. Many cases of intentional and accidental poisoning of humans are known.[6]

The main toxins are the

activated charcoal.[9][10][11] Ovine polyclonal anti-digitoxin Fab fragment antibody (DigiTAb; Therapeutic Antibodies Inc.) can be used to treat T. peruviana poisoning, but for many countries the cost is prohibitive.[12]

A few bird species are however known to feed on them without any ill effects. These include the

common grey hornbill.[13][14][15][16][17][18]

In South India and in Sri Lanka swallowing the seeds of Thevetia peruviana[19] (Kaneru කණේරු (Sinhala), Manjal arali (Tamil)) is one of the preferred methods for suicides in villages where they are grown in abundance.[20]

Extracts from C. thevetia are reported to possess antispermatogenic activity in rats.[21]

In 2023, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported on weight loss supplements substituting Crataegus mexicana and Aleurites moluccanus for C. thevetia, following multiple hospitalizations.[22][23]

Uses

Trunk.
Cultivation

Cascabela thevetia is cultivated as an

house plant. It tolerates most soils and is drought tolerant.[5]

Biological pest control

The plant's toxins have tested in experiments for uses in biological pest control. T. peruviana seed oil was used to make a 'paint' with antifungal, antibacterial and anti-termite properties.[24]

Gallery

  • Apricot colored flower
    Apricot colored flower
  • Seeds
    Seeds
  • Dry seeds
    Dry seeds
  • Leaves
    Leaves
  • White variety of Cascabela thevetia
    White variety of Cascabela thevetia
  • Growth habit
    Growth habit
  • Variety with apricot-colored flowers.
    Variety with apricot-colored flowers.
  • At a park in Delhi, India
    At a park in Delhi, India
  • Cascabela thevetia (Kaner) in Delhi
    Cascabela thevetia (Kaner) in Delhi
  • Cascabela thevetia (Karen) in Rajkot
    Cascabela thevetia (Karen) in Rajkot
  • Yellow Oleander
    Yellow Oleander

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T146789945A146789947.en
    . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  3. ISBN 9780849326738
    .
  4. ^ "Cascabela thevetia - Plant Finder". www.missouribotanicalgarden.org. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  5. ^ a b c "Thevetia peruvians". Missouri Botanical Garden. Archived from the original on 2004-12-09. Retrieved 2011-04-19.
  6. PMID 8619248
    .
  7. PMID 10638101
    .
  8. PMID 22196940
    .
  9. S2CID 37334350
    .
  10. PMID 17164695
    .
  11. PMID 20438743
    .
  12. S2CID 2095538
    .
  13. ^ Kannan,R (1991). "Koels feeding on the yellow oleander". Blackbuck. 7 (2): 48.
  14. ^ Krishnan, M (1952). "Koels (Eudynamis scolopaceus) eating the poisonous fruit of the Yellow Oleander". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 50 (4): 943–945.
  15. ^ Raj,PJ Sanjeeva (1963). "Additions to the list of birds eating the fruit of Yellow Oleander (Thevetia neriifolia )". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 60 (2): 457–458.
  16. ^ Raj, P J Sanjeeva (1959). "Birds eating poisonous fruit of Yellow Oleander (Thevetia neriifolia)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 56 (3): 639.
  17. ^ Neelakantan,KK (1953). "Common Grey Hornbill (Tockus birostris) eating fruits of the Yellow Oleander (Thevetia neriifolia)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 51 (3): 738.
  18. ^ Rajasingh, Simon G; Rajasingh, Irene V (1970). "Birds and mammals eating the fruits of Yellow Oleander (Thevetia peruviana)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 67 (3): 572–573.
  19. ^ Thevetia peruviana
  20. ^ M. Eddleston, D.A. Warrell (1999-09-01). "Management of acute yellow oleander poisoning". QJM: An International Journal of Medicine. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  21. S2CID 24757302
    .
  22. ^ Berland, Noah; Kababick, James; Santos, Cynthia; Calello, Diane P. (15 September 2023). "Notes from the Field: Online Weight Loss Supplements Labeled as Tejocote (Crataegus mexicana) Root, Substituted with Yellow Oleander (Cascabela thevetia) — United States, 2022". Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 72 (37). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: 1016–1017.
  23. ^ "The FDA Expands Warning to Consumers About Toxic Yellow Oleander Purported to be Nuez de la India in Certain Botanical Weight Loss Products". Food and Drug Administration. 8 September 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  24. ^ Kareru P.G.; Keriko J.M.; Kenji G.M.; Gachanja A.N. (2010). "Anti-termite and antimicrobial properties of paint made from Thevetia peruviana (Pers.) Schum. oil extract". African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology. 4 (2): 87–89.

External links

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