The plants around us. Volum II The plant around us. Volum II | Page 30

Nerium oleander. DESCRIPTION Green bush throughout the year that can reach 4 m in height. The trunk has a soft brown ash bark. White, pink or red flowers, up to 40 mm in diameter, with glandular chalice and deeply divided into 3 sepals. The flowers may have one or two layers of petals, which gives them a "simple" or "composite" appearance. Woody follicles that release feathery seeds. The leaves are oppos ite, thick and coriaceous, w ith the middle nerve whitish and well marked. The outline is long lanceolate, with fu ll margin and intense green color. ZAIRA Escoto and CAROLINA Pérz The fruits of the oleander remember the beans but they are much bigger and Brown. The fruit is a pod or double leathery follicle, dry, about 8-16 cm long, brown, with rounded section, which is opened by means of lateral grooves releasing numerous hairy seeds and with vilano. Tomentose seeds, with a fascicle of hairs at the apex. Its extraction is carried out by screening for the separation of the seed from the pod. Cold storage and dry environment. Curiosities: In spite of its popularity, the milky juice of its sap is enormously poisonous, being able to cause serious upheavals, especially to the children. Translation: -English- Oleander –Spanish – Adelfa NERIUM OLLANDER -Estonian – harilik oleander -Albanian – landër -Portuguese – Adelfa -Turkish-zakkum -Catalan-Baladre.