Thevetia peruviana
Thevetia peruviana
Safety & Hazards
All parts of the plant produce a latex which is highly poisonous; the kernels are the most toxic[1]. The active principles are cardiac glycosides of the cardenolide type; symptoms of poisoning mainly involve the cardiovascular system (including various types of arrhythmia, e.g. Sinus bradycardia) and the gastro-intestinal tract. Vomiting is the common symptom in poisoning in about 30% of all cases. Ischaemic changes occur in about 40% of the cases, as well as palpitations in about 10%. The most serious and immediate cause leading to death is peripheral vascular failure[1]. The seeds have been used for committing suicide, homicide, as an ordeal poison, a rat poison and as an arrow poison when hunting[2, 1]. The wood and bark may be employed as fish poison[1, 3].
Cultivation Details
A plant of tropical, lowland areas. Succeeds in full sun or light shade[1]. Prefers a fertile, well-drained loam with additional leaf mould, though plants can succeed in rather poor and dry soils as wel[2, 1]. Tolerant of moderately saline soils[2]. Established plants are drought tolerant[2]. The plants are shallow-rooted and should be sited in positions protected from strong winds[2, 1]. Stem tips of young plants are pinched out to encourage a bushy habit, and established specimens are pruned after flowering or shortly before the growing season to shape and restrict size[1]. The plant can flower and fruit all year round in equatorial climates[2, 1]. The flowers are fragrant[4]. The ripe fruits remain on the plant for a long time[2]. The plant responds well to coppicing[2]. In the West Indies the seeds are called 'lucky nuts' and 'luckseeds', and are sometimes carried in the pocket to bring good luck, doubtless because of their curious form[4].
Propagation
Seed - it has a short viability and is best sown within 3 months of harvest[2]. Up to 80% germination rates can be expected[2]. Semi-ripe cuttings of terminal shoots[1]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Thevetia+peruviana>
Pollinators
Data unavailable
References
- [1]Plant Resources of Southeast Asia — http://proseanet.org/ ↩︎Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
- [2]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
- [3]An Illustrated Dictionary of Medicine, Biology and Allied Sciences. — Gould G.M. · P. Blakiston's Son & Co.; Philadelphia. · 1907 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎A major work at the time, though very dated now. Contains quite a lot of information about medicinal plant uses.
- [4]Flora of Guatemala — Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark · 1946 - 1976 · http://www.archive.org/ ↩︎A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
- [5]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
- [6]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
- [7]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
- [8]Medicinal Plants of the Guianas — DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J. · Smithsonian Museum · http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html ↩︎A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region