Seek urgent medical attention for any ingestion.
Description
A semi-succulent shrub or small tree to 3m with thickened lower stems and swollen base cultivated as a garden ornamental. The bark is smooth and grey.
Flowers are 2.5-5cm long, funnel-shaped, 5-lobed and clustered at the ends of branches, white, pink or red in colour often pale with a darker margin.
Leaves are leathery in texture, clustered towards the ends of the branches and spirally arranged. They are broadest above the middle (obovate) or oblong or elliptic in shape with a rounded apex, 5-22cm long and 0.5-6cm wide. Leaves can be hairy or not.
Toxicity
Symptoms
All parts of the plant are toxic. Symptoms may include slow heart beat, low blood pressure, lethargy, dizziness and stomach upset.
Images
Details
Common name: Desert rose
Botanical name: Adenium obesum
Other common names: Impala lily, sabi star
Family: Apocynaceae
General description: A semi-succulent shrub or small tree to 3m with thickened lower stems and swollen base cultivated as a garden ornamental. The bark is smooth and grey.
Flowers: Flowers are 2.5-5cm long, funnel-shaped, 5-lobed and clustered at the ends of branches, white, pink or red in colour often pale with a darker margin.
Leaves: Leaves are leathery in texture, clustered towards the ends of the branches and spirally arranged. They are broadest above the middle (obovate) or oblong or elliptic in shape with a rounded apex, 5-22cm long and 0.5-6cm wide. Leaves can be hairy or not.
Fruit/Berries: The fruit are tapered pods borne in pairs, grey or grey brown in colour, 15-16cm long and containing long narrow cylindric seeds that are tipped at each end with a tuft of long silky golden-brown hairs.
Last updated: July 2023