Trees Planet: Adenium obesum

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Adenium obesum – Desert Rose

General Information

Common Name	Desert Rose
Scientific Name	*Adenium obesum*
Sun Tolerance	Full Sun
Height	1 - 3 m (3. - 10 ft)
Spread	0.3 - 1 m (3 - 3.3 ft)
Growth Rate	Slow
Bloom Time	Summer
Color	Green,
Flower Color	Multi-Color
Type	Shrubs
Native	Africa, Asia

Classification

Kingdom	Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision	Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division	Magnoliophyta – Flowering Plants
Class	Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons
Subclass	Asteridae
Order	Gentianales
Family	Apocynaceae – Dogbane Family
Genus	Adenium – Desert Rose
Species	A. obesum

Adenium obesum – Desert Rose

Adenium obesum commonly known as Desert Rose also known as Sabi Star, others name are Kudu, Mock Azalea, or Impala Lily. It is native to the Sahel regions, south of the Sahara and tropical and subtropical eastern and Southern Africa and Arabia.

It is an evergreen or drought-deciduous succulent shrub but lose the leaves during cold spells. The leaves are spirally arranged on gray-green to brown branches, clustered toward the tips of the shoots, simple entire leathery in texture, ovate, gray-green, 5-15 cm (2-3 in) long and 1-8 cm (.5-3 in) broad. It is a small tree grown 1 – 3 m (3.3 – 10 ft) in height and it can grow 1 m {3.3 ft) or more in diameter. The plant sometimes has a fleshy taproot.

In the wild, flowers bloom in summer with some irregular continued bloom throughout the year. The flowers are Multi-Color in color, tubular, 2-5 cm (.8-2 in) long, with the outer portion 4-6 cm (1.5-2.5 in) diameter with five petals.

It is very famous as ornamental plant. People like to plant it in their garden or park. Also it has a great value as bonsai plant. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use, mainly as a medicine. The root sap or sometimes the wood or stem latex contains a powerful heart toxin and is used to prepare arrow poison.