oleander

noun

Etymology: From French oléandre, from Medieval Latin oleandru, from Late Latin lorandrum, perhaps an alteration of rhododendron.

1. Nerium oleander, a notoriously poisonous shrub in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae, but nonetheless widely grown as an ornamental, having leathery lance-shaped leaves and deep rose-colored or white flowers.

   “"Cut a small branch of oleander from a thrifty plant, place it in a vial partly filled with rain water, so that the lower end of the branch may be immersed about half an inch in the water.”