Yellow oleander (Cascabela thevetia)

Ginje or yellow oleander or be-still tree or thevetia peruviana (Cascabela thevetia) is plant species in Apocynaceae, small tropical shrubs or small trees, poisonous but some bird species are known to eat fruit without adverse effects and are widely cultivated as ornamental plants.

C. thevetia has shiny green leaves, linear-lanceolate and covered with a waxy coating to reduce water loss. The green stems turn silver or gray with age, but the inside remains green and has a thin brown skin.

The flowers are long funnel shaped and yellow or white or red. Dark red fruit that encloses a large seed. Yellow oleander is drought resistant, tolerant of high temperatures, dry or barren soil and drought.

All parts of the plant are poisonous to most vertebrates because they contain glycosides. The main poisons are cardenolides called thevetin A and thevetin B, peruvoside, neriifolin, thevetoxin, and ruvoside. Toxins are used in biological pest control. Seed oil is used for antifungal, antibacterial, and anti-termite properties.

Several species of birds are known to eat them without ill effects, including the sunbirds, Asian coels, red-whiskered bulbuls, white-browed bulbuls, red-vented bulbuls, brahminy myna, common myna and common gray hornbills. Extracts from C. thevetia have antispermatogenic activity in mice.

Bright yellow flowers are used for religious purposes, especially in the worship of Hindu Shiva. Ginje is cultivated as an ornamental plant and is planted as a large flowering bush or small ornamental tree in gardens and parks.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Subfamily: Rauvolfioideae
Genus: Cascabela
Species: Cascabela thevetia
Varieties: Cascabela thevetia var. peruviana

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