Shamel: Origin of Striped Oleander 



43 



TWO BRANCHES FROM THE SAME OLEANDER PLANT 



"Frequently variegated or striped leaves are found on branches of the ordinary green plants." 

 A branch of striped leaves is shown above with a green leafed branch, both taken from the same 

 oleander plant. (Fig. 30.) 



heavy heads. There are usually five 

 stamens attached to the middle tube of 

 the corolla. The seed-pods are cylin- 

 drical and contain twisted seeds. 



The name is from the Greek word 

 neros, signifying humid, to indicate the 

 localities where some of the species 

 grow\ A'^. oleander is supposed to be 

 the willow of the scripture. 



Oleanders are said to be poisonous 

 and some persons are reported to have 

 died from carelessly eating the flowers. 

 Cattle have been killed by eating the 

 foliage. In California, the oleander is 

 said to be immune from gopher at- 

 tacks, and the writer can confirm this 

 statement from a limited personal ob- 

 servation of plants in the vicinity of 

 Riverside, Cal. While nearby citrus 



and other trees have often been found 

 to be attacked by gophers, none of the 

 oleanders examined have been found to 

 show any injuries from or signs of 

 gopher attacks. 



The oleanders would be much more 

 widely planted in southern California 

 on account of their persistent habit of 

 flowering were it not for the fact that 

 the plants are very generally attacked 

 by black and other scales. In fact, 

 those insects seem to prefer the olean- 

 der to any other plants. In sections 

 where the mealy bug is found the 

 oleanders are also found to be fre- 

 quently attacked by this enemy of the 

 citrus trees. 



The oleander is propagated in south- 

 ern California exclusively from cut- 



