The reasons why trees of oleander They are manifold. The main ones have to do with the road safety: being poisonous, the oleanders they keep animals at a distancewho instinctively do not approach and, therefore, do not cross the roadway. In addition, oleanders can act as natural barrier in the event of an accident. Other reasons are linked to the fact that oleanders need to little maintenance and can resist to prohibitive climatic conditionswhich makes them very cheap. Finally, the oleanders, attracting insects with their flowers, contribute to the maintenance of the biodiversity.
Road safety
Along the highways we often see oleandro trees (Nerium Oleander), are planted on margins of the roadway or in the center, with functions of sparottraffo. The reasons for their presence are not exclusively aesthetic: on the contrary, oleanders are planted for reasons linked mainly to the road safety and ease of maintenance.
The oleanders are highly toxic plants Both for humans and for animals. We know, for example, that some soldiers of Napoleon’s army during the Italian countryside died of poisoning after using oleandro branches as skewers to roast the meat. Being toxic therefore they keep wild fauna away: Animals instinctively keep at a distance and, consequently, the risk that they cross the roadway and cause accidents significantly reduces. This feature is Particularly useful at nightwhen visibility is reduced and motorists may not see any animals on the road on time.
Furthermore, the oleanders are also useful for road safety for another reason: thanks to their thick hair, if they are arranged in hedges they can act as a natural barrier, succeeding in cushion the impact of vehicles in the event of an accident. In fact, they absorb a part of kinetic energy and in this way reduce the damage caused by the impact. Furthermore, if placed in the center of the roadway as a diviTraffo, they act as barrier also for dazzling headlights of vehicles that proceed in the opposite direction.
Practicality and support for biodiversity
Other reasons for the presence of oleanders on the highway are linked resistance and ease of maintenance of the plant. The oleanders are in fact equipped with great resistance and can survive in prohibitive climatic conditions, which allows them to bear heat which emanates the asphalt on the hottest days. They also need little maintenance: There is no need to water them regularly And, consequently, the cost for the entities that manage the highways is very reduced.
Finally, the oleanders have the function of contributing to the maintenance of biodiversity: although being toxic, their flowers attract various species of insectsthus promoting biodiversity in prohibitive areas for animals such as motorways.
