Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Account for Common Oleander - Nerium oleander   L.
Members of Apocynaceae:
Only member of Nerium in NC.
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Section 6 » Order Gentianales » Family Apocynaceae
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AuthorL.
DistributionCollected once on the mainland of Carteret County (1998) and several times on Hatteras Island, Dare County (1966-76). Commonly planted and seen along and near most of our coast, especially along residential streets, but apparently seldom escapes.

Native of Mediterranean Europe; in N.A. southern states from NC to FL, TX, and CA.
AbundanceVery rare. Escapes only locally.
HabitatRoadsides, yard weed, edge of brackish marsh, maritime thicket.
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting June-August.
IdentificationCommon Oleander is a tall evergreen shrub (8 feet or so) with few to many stems and a spreading crown. The leaves are numerous, long, broadly linear to narrowly lance-shaped. The flowers are terminal in panicles, various shades of pink to rose. Each petal is bent or twisted left or right such that the flower assumes a fan shape, like an airplane propeller. Most parts of the plant are poisonous.
Taxonomic Comments
Other Common Name(s)
State RankSE
Global RankGNR
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US Status
USACE-agcp
USACE-emp
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B.A. SorrieCentral Chile, hotel grounds, December 2016. Photo_non_NCPhoto_non_NC
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