Quote:
Originally Posted by Olafhenny
Rhododendrons, azaleas, oleander and I believe most broad leaf evergreens in cooler
regions are poisonous.
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Genetically, Rhododendrons are both a genus (
Rhododendron) and a tribe (
Rhodoreae) of plants from the family
Ericaceae with a long history on this planet.
True Azaleas are species in the genus Rhododendron. Excluding synonyms, there are over 20 species of Azaleas, some evergreen and others deciduous. All of them are native to areas of modern China. Some are poisonous to humans but others are not.
Another well-known genus of plants in Ericaceae is Vaccinium, which includes billberries, blueberries, cranberries, etc. -- all of which have evergreen forms and none of which are poisonous to humans.
With regard to Oleanders, genetically they are in the Dogbane family (
Apocynaceae). The vast majority of these originated in Africa or prior. Many have evergreen forms including the genus Carissa which has edible fruits. In particular, I am growing
Carissa spinarum, aka Kunkerberry.
