Photo: Anshik Kumar Tiwari, CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Yellow Oleander

Thevetia peruviana

Also known as Yellow oleander, Be-still tree, Lucky nut, Trumpet flower, Cabalonga

At a glance

Family

Apocynaceae (the dogbane family, cousin to true oleander and milkweed)

Type

Evergreen flowering shrub or small tree

Parts used

None. Every part of this plant, especially the seeds, sap, and bark, is considered dangerously toxic and is not used for home remedies

Size

Typically 6 to 20 feet tall with a similar spread, though it can be pruned smaller or trained as a single-trunk tree

Bloom

Glossy, funnel-shaped flowers in warm yellow, gold, apricot, or white, often fragrant, appearing nearly year-round in frost-free climates

Habitat

Native to Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean; long naturalized and widely planted as an ornamental across tropical and subtropical regions worldwide

Acquisition

Grow or buy

This plant in HerbSense

Key benefits

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Striking, near-constant tropical bloom

Highly drought and heat tolerant

Historic source of cardiac glycosides

Useful as a dense privacy hedge

Traditional uses

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In parts of its native range and in South Asia, where it was introduced as an ornamental, folk healers historically experimented with tiny external preparations of yellow oleander bark or sap for skin conditions, and the crushed seeds were sometimes used as a rat poison or fish poison. None of these traditional applications were ever considered safe for internal use, and the plant has instead become best known in ethnobotanical and toxicology literature as one of the most common sources of accidental and intentional poisoning in the regions where it grows, since its seeds closely resemble a harmless nut. Its story today is really a caution passed down through generations of gardeners rather than a remedy passed down through generations of healers. Modern pharmacology has studied its potent cardiac glycosides, thevetin and related compounds, chiefly to understand and treat poisoning cases, not to develop them into medicine.

How to grow & use it

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Choose it when

“A plant to admire from a garden path, never to bring into a teacup.”

Did you know?

The shiny, triangular seeds of yellow oleander are sometimes called lucky nuts and have been strung into necklaces or carried as charms in parts of the tropics, even though a single seed contains enough cardiac glycoside to seriously endanger a person's heart rhythm.

Safety

Every part of Thevetia peruviana, especially the seeds, sap, bark, and roots, contains potent cardiac glycosides (notably thevetin) that are chemically similar to digoxin and can cause life-threatening heart arrhythmias, vomiting, and death if chewed or swallowed, even in small amounts. It is one of the leading causes of plant poisoning deaths in parts of South Asia and is a recognized hazard wherever it is grown ornamentally, so seeds, leaves, and flowers should be kept well out of reach of children, pets, and livestock, and the milky sap can also irritate skin and eyes on contact. This plant should never be prepared as a tea, tincture, or any other ingestible remedy, and it may dangerously interact with heart medications such as digoxin. If ingestion is suspected, treat it as a medical emergency and contact poison control or a doctor immediately rather than attempting any home treatment; anyone drawn to this plant for its history or beauty should enjoy it strictly as a garden ornamental and consult a qualified physician or toxicologist with any real concerns.