Cascabela thevetia

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Lamiids
Ordo: Gentianales

Familia: Apocynaceae
Subfamilia: Rauvolfioideae
Tribus: Plumerieae
Subtribus: Thevetiinae
Genus: Cascabela
Species: Cascabela thevetia
Name

Cascabela thevetia (L.) Lippold, Feddes Repert. 91: 52 (1980)
Synonyms

Basionym
Cerbera thevetia L., Sp. Pl.: 209 (1753).
Homotypic
Thevetia neriifolia Juss. ex A.DC. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 8: 343 (1844).
Thevetia thevetia (L.) H.Karst., Deut. Fl.: 1035 (1883), not validly publ.
Heterotypic
Cerbera peruviana Pers., Syn. Pl. 1: 267 (1805).
Cerbera linearifolia Stokes, Bot. Mat. Med. 1: 490 (1812).
Cascabela peruviana (Pers.) Raf., Sylva Tellur.: 162 (1838).
Thevetia linearis Raf., Sylva Tellur.: 91 (1838).
Thevetia neriifolia var. hirsuta Müll.Arg. in C.F.P.von Martius & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Bras. 6(1): 28 (1860).
Thevetia neriifolia var. leucantha Müll.Arg. in C.F.P.von Martius & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Bras. 6(1): 27 (1860).
Thevetia neriifolia var. pubescens Müll.Arg. in C.F.P.von Martius & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Bras. 6(1): 27 (1860).
Thevetia peruviana (Pers.) K.Schum. in H.G.A.Engler & K.A.E.Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam. 4(2): 159 (1895).
Thevetia peruviana f. aurantiaca H.St.John, Phytologia 34: 148 (1976).

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Southern America
El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, French Guiana, Guyana, Surinam, Colombia (Antioquia, Bolvar, Choc, Cundinamarca, Nario, Putumayo, San Andrs, Providencia y Santa Catalina, Santander, Valle), Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela (Amazonas, Anzoategui, Bolivar, Carabobo, Delta Amacuro, Distrito Federal, Falcon, Lara, Merida, Monagas, Nueva Esparta), N-Brazil (Roraima, Para, Amazonas, Acre, Rondonia), NE-Brazil (Paraiba, Pernambuco, Bahia, Sergipe), WC-Brazil (Mato Grosso, Goias, Mato Grosso do Sul), SE-Brazil (Espirito Santo, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro), Paraguay (Amambay, Central, Cordillera), Costa Rica, Peru, Nicaragua, Belize, Bolivia (Beni, Santa Cruz), Panama
Continental: Northern America
Mexico (Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Colima, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico State, Michoacan, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Yucatan)

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References

Lippold, H. 1980. Feddes Repertorium 91(1–2): 52.
Alvarado-Cárdenas, L.O. & Ochoterena, H. 2007. A phylogenetic analysis of the Cascabela–Thevetia species complex (Plumerieae, Apocynaceae) based on morphology. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 94(2): 298-323. DOI: 10.3417/0026-6493(2007)94[298:APAOTC]2.0.CO;2 Reference page.
Alvarado-Cárdenas, L.O., Villaseñor, J.L., López-Mata, L., Cadena, J. & Ortiz, E. 2017. Systematics, distribution and conservation of Cascabela (Apocynaceae: Rauvolfioideae: Plumerieae) in Mexico. Plant Systematics and Evolution 303(3): 337-369. DOI: 10.1007/s00606-016-1375-6 Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2017. Cascabela thevetia in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2017 Oct. 10. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2017. Cascabela thevetia. Published online. Accessed: Oct. 10 2017.

Vernacular names
অসমীয়া: কৰবী
Deutsch: Schellenbaum
English: Yellow Oleander, Lucky Nut
suomi: Keltaoleanteri
français: Thévétia du Pérou
हिन्दी: कनेर (पीली)
Nederlands: Peruaanse rinkelboom
中文: 黃花夾竹桃

Cascabela thevetia (syn: Thevetia peruviana) is a poisonous plant native throughout Mexico and in Central America, and cultivated widely as an ornamental. It is a relative of Nerium oleander, giving it a common name yellow oleander, and is also called lucky nut in the West Indies.

Etymology

'Cascabel', 'cascavel' or 'cascabela' is Spanish for a small bell, a snake's rattle or a rattlesnake itself.[3] The allusion may also be to the plant's toxicity comparable to the venom of a rattlesnake. The latin specific name thevetia commemorates André de Thevet (1516-1590), a French Franciscan priest and explorer, who explored Brazil and Guiana[4] (where the plant is known as chapéu-de-napoleão, ie, Napoleon's hat).
Description

Cascabela thevetia is an evergreen tropical shrub or small tree. Its leaves are willow-like, linear-lanceolate, and glossy green in color. They are covered in waxy coating to reduce water loss (typical of oleanders). Its stem is green turning silver/gray as it ages.[5] Flowers bloom from summer to fall. The long funnel-shaped sometimes-fragrant yellow (less commonly apricot, sometimes white) flowers are in few-flowered terminal clusters.[5] Its fruit is deep red-black in color encasing a large seed that bears some resemblance to a 'Chinese lucky nut.'

Cascabela thevetia is commonly known as Kaneir or Kaner (कनेर) in Hindi language in India. It is effectively drought resistant and tolerant to high temperatures, hence found in various states of India like Andhra, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh , Odisha and Assam where semi arid climate is prevalent.
Religious importance

Its bright yellow flowers are used for religious purposes in India. The tree is native to Mexico and thus direct references to Hindu culture are new.
Toxicity
Ripe fruit.

All parts of the C. thevetia plant are toxic to most vertebrates as they contain cardiac glycosides. Many cases of intentional and accidental poisoning of humans are known.[6]

The main toxins are the cardenolides called thevetin A and thevetin B; others include peruvoside, neriifolin, thevetoxin and ruvoside.[7][8] These cardenolides are not destroyed by drying or heating and they are very similar to digoxin from Digitalis purpurea. They produce gastric and cardiotoxic effects. Antidotes for treatment include atropine and digoxin immune fabs (antibodies) and treatment may include oral administration of activated charcoal.[9][10][11] Ovine polyclonal anti-digitoxin Fab fragment antibody (DigiTAb; Therapeutic Antibodies Inc.) can be used to treat T. peruviana poisoning, but for many countries the cost is prohibitive.[12]

A few bird species are however known to feed on them without any ill effects. These include the sunbirds, Asian koel, red-whiskered bulbul, white-browed bulbul, red-vented bulbul, brahminy myna, common myna and common grey hornbill.[13][14][15][16][17][18]

In South India and in Sri Lanka swallowing the seeds of Thevetia peruviana[19] (Kaneru කණේරු (Sinhala), Manjal arali (Tamil)) is one of the preferred methods for suicides in villages where they are grown in abundance.[20]

Extracts from C. thevetia are reported to possess antispermatogenic activity in rats.[21]
Uses
Trunk.

Cultivation

Cascabela thevetia is cultivated as an ornamental plant, and planted as large flowering shrub or small ornamental tree standards in gardens and parks in temperate climates. In frost prone areas it is container plant, in the winter season brought inside a greenhouse or as a house plant. It tolerates most soils and is drought tolerant.[5]

Biological pest control

The plant's toxins have tested in experiments for uses in biological pest control. T. peruviana seed oil was used to make a 'paint' with antifungal, antibacterial and anti-termite properties.[22]

References

Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI).; IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group (2019). "Cascabela thevetia". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T146789945A146789947. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T146789945A146789947.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
"The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". Retrieved May 17, 2014.
Quattrocchi, Umberto (1999). CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology. CRC Press. ISBN 9780849326738.
"Cascabela thevetia - Plant Finder". www.missouribotanicalgarden.org. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
"Thevetia peruvians". Missouri Botanical Garden. Archived from the original on 2004-12-09. Retrieved 2011-04-19.
Shannon D. Langford & Paul J. Boor (1996). "Oleander toxicity: an examination of human and animal toxic exposures". Toxicology. 109 (1): 1–13. doi:10.1016/0300-483X(95)03296-R. PMID 8619248.
Bose TK, Basu RK, Biswas B, De JN, Majumdar BC, Datta S (1999). "Cardiovascular effects of yellow oleander ingestion". J Indian Med Assoc. 97 (10): 407–410. PMID 10638101.
Kohls S, Scholz-Böttcher BM, Teske J, Zark P, Rullkötter J (2012). "Cardiac glycosides from Yellow Oleander (Thevetia peruviana) seeds". Phytochemistry. 75: 114–27. doi:10.1016/j.phytochem.2011.11.019. PMID 22196940.
Rajapakse S. (2009). "Management of yellow oleander poisoning". Clinical Toxicology. 47 (3): 206–212. doi:10.1080/15563650902824001. PMID 19306191. S2CID 37334350.
Roberts D.M.; Southcott E.; Potter J.M.; Roberts M.S.; Eddleston M.; Buckley N.A. (2006). "Pharmacokinetics of digoxin cross-reacting substances in patients with acute yellow oleander (Thevetia peruviana) poisoning, including the effect of activated charcoal". Therapeutic Drug Monitoring. 28 (6): 784–792. doi:10.1097/ftd.0b013e31802bfd69. PMC 2296884. PMID 17164695.
Bandara V.; Weinstein S.A.; White J.; Eddleston M. (2010). "A review of the natural history, toxinology, diagnosis and clinical management of Nerium oleander (common oleander) and Thevetia peruviana (yellow oleander) poisoning". Toxicon. 56 (3): 273–281. doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2010.03.026. PMID 20438743.
M. Eddleston; S. Rajapakse; Rajakanthan, S. Jayalath; L. Sjöström; W. Santharaj; et al. (2000). "Anti-digoxin Fab fragments in cardiotoxicity induced by ingestion of yellow oleander: a randomised controlled trial". Lancet. 355 (9208): 967–972. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(00)90014-X. PMID 10768435. S2CID 2095538.
Kannan,R (1991). "Koels feeding on the yellow oleander". Blackbuck. 7 (2): 48.
Krishnan, M (1952). "Koels (Eudynamis scolopaceus) eating the poisonous fruit of the Yellow Oleander". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 50 (4): 943–945.
Raj,PJ Sanjeeva (1963). "Additions to the list of birds eating the fruit of Yellow Oleander (Thevetia neriifolia )". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 60 (2): 457–458.
Raj, P J Sanjeeva (1959). "Birds eating poisonous fruit of Yellow Oleander (Thevetia neriifolia)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 56 (3): 639.
Neelakantan,KK (1953). "Common Grey Hornbill (Tockus birostris) eating fruits of the Yellow Oleander (Thevetia neriifolia)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 51 (3): 738.
Rajasingh, Simon G; Rajasingh, Irene V (1970). "Birds and mammals eating the fruits of Yellow Oleander (Thevetia peruviana)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 67 (3): 572–573.
Thevetia peruviana
M. Eddleston, D.A. Warrell (1999-09-01). "Management of acute yellow oleander poisoning". QJM: An International Journal of Medicine. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
Gupta R, Kachhawa JB, Gupta RS, Sharma AK, Sharma MC, Dobhal MP (March 2011). "Phytochemical evaluation and antispermatogenic activity of Thevetia peruviana methanol extract in male albino rats". Hum Fertil (Camb). 14 (1): 53–59. doi:10.3109/14647273.2010.542230. PMID 21466267. S2CID 24757302.
Kareru P.G.; Keriko J.M.; Kenji G.M.; Gachanja A.N. (2010). "Anti-termite and antimicrobial properties of paint made from Thevetia peruviana (Pers.) Schum. oil extract". African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology. 4 (2): 87–89.