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Nerium oleander
Grows to 6–20 feet tall, with erect branches which splay outward as they mature. The leaves are in pairs or whorls of three, thick and leathery, dark-green, narrow, approximately 2–8 inches long. The flowers grow in clusters at the end of each branch; they are white, pink or red, and 2 inches in diameter. They are often, but not always, sweet-scented. The fruit is a long, narrow capsule around 9 inches long, which splits open at maturity to release numerous downy seeds.
Found in many places from Mauritania, Morocco, and Portugal eastward through the Mediterranean region and the Sahara (where it is only found sporadically), to the Arabian peninsula, southern Asia, and as far East as Yunnan in southern parts of China. On the East Coast of the US, it can be planted as far north as Virginia Beach, Virginia, while in California and Texas it is naturalized as a median strip planting.
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