Cascabela thevetia (L.) Lippold

 

Family: Apocynaceae

Synonym: Cerbera thevetia L., Thevetia longifolia Vahl

Vernacular name: Lucky Nut,Mexican oleander,Yellow Oleander

Habit: Tree

Habitat: Cultivated

Distribution: India: Assam, Meghalaya; America, Naturalized in tropics

Flowering and Fruiting: Throughout the year

Key identification features: It is a shrub or small tree. Leaves are usually arranged in whorls, flat and pointed. Flowers are yellow but sometimes occur in orange and white color too. Fruit is small quadrangled and green in color when young turning to browish black-black as aging occurs, contains two-four flat seeds.

Uses: In some traditional systems of medicine, extracts from Cascabela thevetia have been used to treat heart conditions like palpitations and cardiac arrhythmias. However, caution is advised due to its potential toxicity to the heart.