Oleander

From Encyclopediak

Oleander, a small tree of the Dogbane Family, cultivated in greenhouses or as an ornamental shrub. The juice is slightly milky and poisonous the leaves are leathery and stiff and marked with rigid veins. The flowers are showy and grow in long clusters. The individual blossoms are tubular and may be white, rose, variegated or streaked in color and single or double in form. One variety has fragrant flowers, but ordinarily they are scentless. The tree grows to a height of six or eight feet, but is a somewhat tender plant, which will not endure the winters of northern United States. If kept within doors it must be allowed to "sleep" through the winter, as it does not thrive well without an occasional resting period. The oleander is a native of India, where the Hindu, though, fearing its poisonous qualities, decorates his temples with its beautiful blossoms.