Nerium oleander L. var. albo simplex
A cultivar of Nerium oleander L. The species is a fully hardy, tall, erect to spreading shrub or small tree with lance-shaped leaves, to 20cm long, bearing numerous cymes of up to 80 pink, red or white flowers, to 5cm across, in summer. To 6m. The cultivar ‘Albo Simplex’ is a single white form. [RHSE, Hortus, Hilliers’].
Horticultural & Botanical History
‘This variety of Oleander [album] differs slightly from the old white kind; the plant is less robust and the flowers also more delicate, with a few faint stripes in the inside. The Oleander is a long-known native of the South of Europe. It thrives very well in the greenhouse in this country, in which it should be kept during the summer, as well as winter, in order to see the blossoms in their greatest perfection.’ [LBC no.700/1823]. Introduced to Britain in 1596. [JD].
History at Camden Park
Listed in all published catalogues [T.700/1843] and probably an early introduction to the gardens. Nerium oleander, sourced from Southern Europe, was donated to the Sydney Botanic Garden by John Macarthur in 1824. The form illustrated here, album, characterised by the carmine streaks inside the flower, is still quite common in gardens in the Camden area. Macarthur may have grown the ‘old white kind’ mentioned by Conrad Loddiges for which I have no description.
Notes
Published May 30, 2009 - 04:36 PM | Last updated Sep 21, 2011 - 05:12 PM
Nerium oleander ‘Albo Simplex’ | LBC no.700/1823 | HAAB
| Family | Apocynaceae |
|---|---|
| Category | |
| Region of origin | Mediterranean to China |
| Synonyms | |
| Common Name | Oleander, Rose bay |
| Name in the Camden Park Record | Nerium oleander v. alb. Simp. - Single white Oleander
|
| Confidence level | high |
