Beautiful and deadly — the oleander's tangled etymology matches its dangerous nature, with a name that may blend olive and rose-laurel.
An evergreen Mediterranean shrub with showy flowers and leathery leaves, all parts of which are highly poisonous.
From Medieval Latin oleander, possibly a blend of Latin olea meaning olive tree (from the similar leaves) and Greek rhododendron, or a corruption of Latin lorandrum from Greek rhodondaphne meaning rose-laurel Key roots: olea (Latin: "olive tree (possibly contributing element)").
Oleander is so toxic that there are documented cases of people dying from using oleander branches as skewers for cooking meat. Every part of the plant — leaves, flowers, stems, roots, and even the smoke from burning it — contains cardiac glycosides that can cause fatal heart arrhythmias.