Cook Islands Biodiversity Database

Species Page

Back to: «« Search Page | « Results Page

Add to My List

Cascabela thevetia

Venevene (MG)

Be-still Tree

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Leaves, flower and fruit	53KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Be-still Tree, Yellow Oleander, Lucky Nut; German Thevetie, Tropischer Oleander

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Venevene (MG MT), Pua (MK)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE S.America - Caribbean

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Naturalised (Mangaia, Mitiaro); Land, lowlands

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Ornamental flowers; Poisonous to eat - serious

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea: Present
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
+++	+++*	-	++	+*		-		-

Northern Group:
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-	-	-	-	-	-

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Pests & Hosts

View as a Search List
Relationship	Hosts
Toxic - serious	Homo sapiens,

Scientific Taxonomy

Cascabela thevetia Linnaeus
SYNONYMS: Thevetia peruviana [incl. GW]; Cascabela peruviana

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ASTERIDAE; Gentianales; APOCYNACEAE

More Information

GENERAL NOTE: All parts of this plant are dangerously poisonous if ingested. The poison is a digitalis-like chemical, thevetin. The symptoms of poisoning include a slow irregular heartbeat, vomiting and shock which may lead to death. Two children in Hawaii who ate Be-still fruit died. (Arnold 1968)

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.215 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.693 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.80 Tropica
p.4/088 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.89 R Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.412e Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM03a

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
Please refer to our use policy.

Biodiversity Database: More Options | Help

My List: View List | Edit List | Clear List