''Adenium obesum'' is a poisonous

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

belonging to the tribe Nerieae of the subfamily

Apocynoideae Apocynoideae is a subfamily of the flowering plant family Apocynaceae (order Gentianales). It contains about 78 genera with roughly 860 species. Several genera are of pharmacological interest - notably those - such as Strophanthus - which have fu ...

of the

dogbane Dogbane, dog-bane, dog's bane, and other variations, some of them regional and some transient, are names for certain plants that are reputed to kill or repel dogs; "bane" originally meant "slayer", and was later applied to plants to indicate tha ...

family,

Apocynaceae Apocynaceae (from ''Apocynum'', Greek for "dog-away") is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the dogbane family, because some taxa were used as dog poison Members of the ...

. It is

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to the

Sahel The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid c ...

regions south of the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

(from

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

and

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

), tropical and subtropical eastern and southern Africa and also the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...

. Common names include Sabi star, kudu, mock azalea, impala lily and desert rose. ''Adenium obesum'' is a popular

houseplant A houseplant, sometimes known as a pot plant, potted plant, or an indoor plant, is an ornamental plant that is grown indoors. As such, they are found in places like residences and offices, mainly for decorative purposes. Common houseplants are us ...

and

bonsai Bonsai ( ja, 盆栽, , tray planting, ) is the Japanese art of growing and training miniature trees in pots, developed from the traditional Chinese art form of ''penjing''. Unlike ''penjing'', which utilizes traditional techniques to produce ...

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

regions.

Description

It is an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

or drought-deciduous

succulent In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

(which can also lose its leaves during cold spells, or according to the subspecies or cultivar). It can grow to in height, with

pachycaul Pachycauls are plants with a disproportionately thick Trunk (botany), trunk for their height, and few branches. This can be the product of exceptional primary growth (as with Arecaceae, palms and cycads) or disproportioate secondary growth as with ...

(disproportionately large) stems and a stout, swollen basal

caudex A caudex (plural: caudices) of a plant is a stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695 In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is m ...

(a rootstock that protrudes from the soil). The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are spirally arranged, clustered toward the tips of the shoots, simple entire, leathery in texture, long and broad. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are tubular, long, with the outer portion diameter with five petals, resembling those of other related genera such as ''

Plumeria ''Plumeria'' (), known as frangipani, is a genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Rauvolfioideae, of the family Apocynaceae. Most species are deciduous shrubs or small trees. The species variously are endemic to Mexico, Central America, and ...

'' and ''

Nerium ''Nerium oleander'' ( ), most commonly known as oleander or nerium, is a shrub or small tree cultivated worldwide in temperate and subtropical areas as an ornamental and landscaping plant. It is the only species currently classified in the ge ...

''. The flowers tend to be red and pink, often with a whitish blush outward of the throat. Hoa và lá sứ Thái

Fruits in Adenuim Obesum Plant on Terrace garden

Adenium Seed Pappus Black Uthandi Aug21 D72 20862

Adenium Seed 1cm Macro Uthandi Sep21 D72 20923-929 ZP

Adenium Seedling 18day Uthandi Aug21 D72 20806

Taxonomy

Some taxonomies consider some other species in the genus to be subspecies of ''Adenium obesum''.

Subspecies

* ''Adenium obesum'' subsp. ''oleifolium'' (

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

) * ''Adenium obesum'' subsp. ''socotranum'' (

Socotra Socotra or Soqotra (; ar, سُقُطْرَىٰ ; so, Suqadara) is an island of the Republic of Yemen in the Indian Ocean, under the ''de facto'' control of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, a secessionist participant in Yemen’s ...

) * ''Adenium obesum'' subsp. ''somalense'' (Eastern Africa) * ''Adenium obesum'' subsp. ''swazicum'' (

Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

, South Africa) Adenium swazicum is a critically endangered African species native to Eswatini and Mozambique, growing up to 0.7 m (2.29 ft) tall. Adenium somalense is also native to Africa, inhabiting Tanzania, Kenya, and Somalia, and reaching heights of 5 m (16.40 ft), which makes it the largest of these four subspecies. Adenium socotranum is native exclusively to the island of Socotra, and can grow to be 4.6 m (15 ft), but despite its small range, it is of least concern regarding endangerment. Adenium oleiolium is near threatened in the wild and is the smallest of these subspecies, growing at the tallest to 0.4 m (1.31 ft).

Ecology

Caterpillars of the polka-dot wasp moth (''

Syntomeida epilais ''Syntomeida epilais'', the polka-dot wasp moth or oleander moth, is a species of moth thought to be native to the Caribbean. Its larvae feed on the oleander plant. Like most wasp moths, these are day fliers. They prefer Neotropic areas, to wh ...

'') are known to feed on the desert rose, along with feeding on

oleander ''Nerium oleander'' ( ), most commonly known as oleander or nerium, is a shrub or small tree cultivated worldwide in temperate and subtropical areas as an ornamental and landscaping plant. It is the only species currently classified in the ge ...

s. In areas with year-round warm weather, they can bloom throughout the year.

Uses

''Adenium obesum'' produces a sap in its roots and stems that contains

cardiac glycoside Cardiac glycosides are a class of organic compounds that increase the output force of the heart and decrease its rate of contractions by inhibiting the cellular sodium-potassium ATPase pump. Their beneficial medical uses are as treatments for co ...

s. This sap is used as

arrow poison Arrow poisons are used to poison arrow heads or darts for the purposes of hunting and warfare. They have been used by indigenous peoples worldwide and are still in use in areas of South America, Africa and Asia. Notable examples are the poisons se ...

for hunting large game throughout much of Africa and as a

fish toxin Fish toxins or fish stupefying plants have historically been used by many hunter gatherer cultures to stun fish, so they become easy to collect by hand. Some of these toxins paralyse fish, which can then be easily collected. The process of documen ...

Cultivation

''Adenium obesum'' is a popular

and

regions. It requires a sunny location and a minimum indoor temperature in winter of . It thrives on a

xeric Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (ancient Greek xērós, “dry") shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this h ...

watering regime as required by

cacti A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek ...

. ''A. obesum'' is typically propagated by seed or stem cuttings. The numerous hybrids are propagated mainly by grafting on to seedling rootstock. While plants grown from seed are more likely to have the swollen caudex at a young age, with time many cutting-grown plants cannot be distinguished from seed-grown plants. Like many plants, ''Adenium obesum'' can also be propagated

in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning in glass, or ''in the glass'') studies are performed with microorganisms, cells, or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in biology an ...

using

plant tissue culture Plant tissue culture is a collection of techniques used to maintain or grow plant cells, tissues or organs under sterile conditions on a nutrient culture medium of known composition. It is widely used to produce clones of a plant in a method known ...

. This plant has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

Symbolic and cultural references

The species has been depicted on

postage stamps A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...

issued by various countries.

Gallery

File:Bottle Trees, Socotra Island (9888518324).jpg, Close-up of stand of ''A. obesum var. socotranum'',

File:Desert Rose, Socotra Is (17131661372).jpg, ''A. obesum var. socotranum'', trunk of single extreme

specimen, Socotra File:Desert rose Adenium obesum in Tanzania 2259 Nevit.jpg, Group of plants growing in scrubland, Tanzania File:Adenium obesum - Marie Selby Botanical Gardens - Sarasota, Florida - DSC01083.jpg, Cultivated

specimen with picturesquely contorted

and roots, Florida File:RCN Mother.jpg, Cultivated specimen in Thailand flowering profusely. File:Adenium Fruit 15+16cm Panorama Chennai Jun21 D72 20060+63 Pano.jpg, Large fruits on 30-cm tall plant, Chennai. File:Adenium seedling 2day Uthandi Aug21 D72 20609-21 ZP.jpg, 2-day seedling with seed husk , Chennai. File:Adenium obesum plants at the campus of Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira in Belur Math, Howrah.jpg, Group of plants at the campus of Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira in

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

, India.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q311994 obesum Flora of Africa Flora of the Arabian Peninsula Plants described in 1819 Garden plants of Africa Drought-tolerant plants House plants Caudiciform plants Poisonous plants Plants that can bloom all year round