“Never do that in Turkey!” – Called the traveler, referring to a contact photo session with the deadly poisonous oleander. She shared details on how to distinguish beautiful and dangerous colors among photogenic colors on her blog.
Almost every tourist, but more often, of course, female tourists, bring with them from their trip photos of beautiful flowers and shrubs. Among them, there is often a shrub that attracts attention with pink flowers. However, two similar plants are common in Turkey. Both evergreen shrubs are bougainvillea (harmless) and oleander (poisonous).
“In Turkish – oleander or “ağu ağacı” (that is, a poisonous tree). A very insidious flower! Tourists, who hardly understand plants, often confuse oleander with bougainvillea and take photos of its background. Oleander is a poisonous shrub. Everything is dangerous in it: flowers, leaves, wood. Oleander smells great, but its aroma provokes headaches and nausea. And the leaf contains an even more dangerous poison (if the animal eats at least one petal, it will die). In short, it is better not to approach the oleander at all,” the traveler warned tourists.
Oleander is easily recognized by its tough, dark green, and narrow leaves. But the authorities are in no hurry to deal with a plant that is delicate in appearance and dangerous inside. The fact is that modern medicine has learned to benefit from it: oleander juice in small doses and the right combinations is used in pharmaceuticals. The poison of the shrub is the basis of drugs that slow down the work of the heart, which is necessary in the treatment of defects of the cardiovascular system. This is a valuable plant that cannot be destroyed.
The traveler told about the legend associated with the use of this fragrant and at the same time poisonous shrub: “Many years ago, the Turks used oleander flowers as a warning to a man who went for a walk. Suspecting her husband of treason, the woman served a dish for dinner and always left a poisonous plant nearby. So she hinted that a man should be prudent. Otherwise, next time the oleander will end up in the plate.”