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Apocynaceae
Desert Rose
Adenium obesum
Resilience, exotic beauty, luxury.
- Family
- Apocynaceae
- Genus
- Adenium
- Native to
- Sub-Saharan Africa, Arabian Peninsula
- Bloom season
- Spring, Summer, Fall
- Type
- Succulent shrub
- Height
- 1–3 m
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil
- Sharply drained, sandy
- Water
- Low; drought-tolerant
- Hardiness
- 10–12
- Lifespan
- Decades; plants over 100 years known
Did you know
- Despite the name, it's not a rose at all — it's a relative of plumeria and oleander in the dogbane family.
- The swollen base of the trunk, called a caudex, stores water like a built-in reservoir, letting the plant survive months of drought.
- Desert rose is one of the most prized bonsai subjects in tropical regions — its naturally chunky trunk gives instant 'old tree' character.
- The milky sap is highly toxic and was historically used by African hunters to poison arrow tips for hunting big game.
- It's the national flower of Niger, where it's called 'kwadi' and grows wild on rocky hillsides.
Color meanings
Pink
Strength through hardship