found the flowers "joyous" and "life-affirming" because of their inexhaustible blooms and vigour. Anglo-Dutch artist Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema incorporated oleanders into his classically inspired paintings, including "An Oleander" (1882), "Courtship", "Under the Roof of Blue Ionian Weather" and "A Roman Flower Market" (1868). "The Terrace at Méric (Oleanders)", an 1867 Impressionist painting by Frédéric Bazille. In literature, film and music Janet Fitch's 1999 novel White Oleander is centered around a young Southern California girl's experiences growing up in foster care after her mother is imprisoned for poisoning an ex-boyfriend with the plant. The book was adapted into a 2002 film of the same name starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Alison Lohman. In the 17th century AD Farsi-language book the Jahangirnama, the Mughal emperor Jahangir passes a stream overgrowing with oleanders along its banks. He orders the nobles in his train to adorn their turbans with oleander blossoms, creating a "field of flowers" on their heads. Steely Dan's 1973 song "My Old School" contains the line "Oleanders growing outside her door, soon they're gonna be in bloom up in Annandale" in the second verse. It has been theorized that this reference is either a metaphor for a toxic relationship, or marijuana, which is the subcontext of the song. Gallery See also Cascabela thevetia (yellow oleander) List of ineffective cancer treatments List of plants poisonous to equines List of poisonous plants Tibesti-Jebel Uweinat montane xeric woodlands Notes References External links Oleander Facts. Clemson University. Retrieved on 2018-03-26. Information on Oleander toxicity. International Oleander Society. Retrieved on 2009-07-27. Plants of North Africa. Barcelona Botanic Gardens Retrieved on 2009-07-27. Medical problems caused by plants: Plant Toxins, Cardiac Glycosides. Erwin, Van den Enden. 2004. Illustrated Lecture Notes on Tropical Medicine. Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical Medicine. Retrieved on 2009-07-27. Cardiac glycosides. Desai, Umesh R. Virginia Commonwealth University. School of Pharmacy. Retrieved on 2009-07-27. Legend of Oleander-poisoning at Campfire. Snopes. Retrieved on 2009-07-27. Distribution over the world, N. oleander, University of Helsinki Monotypic Apocynaceae genera Drought-tolerant trees Flora of North Africa Flora of Western Asia Garden plants of Africa Garden plants of Asia Medicinal plants Ornamental trees Shrubs Nerieae Flora of Lebanon Poisonous plants Flora of the Mediterranean Basin