Acokanthera | |
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Poison arrow plant, Acokanthera oblongifolia | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Gentianales |
Family: | Apocynaceae |
Subfamily: | Rauvolfioideae |
Tribe: | Carisseae |
Genus: | Acokanthera |
Synonyms[1] | |
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Acokanthera is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae. It comprises 5 species and is generally restricted to Africa, although Acokanthera schimperi also occurs in Yemen.[1] Its sap contains the deadly cardiotoxic glycoside ouabain. The sap is among the most commonly used in arrow poisons,[2][3] including those used for poaching elephant.[4]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/Acokanthera_schimperi_-_K%C3%B6hler%E2%80%93s_Medizinal-Pflanzen-150.jpg/225px-Acokanthera_schimperi_-_K%C3%B6hler%E2%80%93s_Medizinal-Pflanzen-150.jpg)
from Köhler's Medizinal Pflanzen 1897
The poison it contains works by stopping the heart, like most other arrow poisons.[5]
- Species[1]
- Acokanthera laevigata Kupicha - Tanzania, Malawi
- Acokanthera oblongifolia (Hochst.) Benth. & Hook.f. ex B.D.Jacks. - Mozambique, South Africa
- Acokanthera oppositifolia (Lam.) Codd - widespread from Cape Province north to Zaire and Tanzania
- Acokanthera rotundata (Codd) Kupicha - Zimbabwe, Eswatini, eastern South Africa
- Acokanthera schimperi (A.DC.) Schweinf. - Yemen, Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Socotra, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zaire
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
- ^ Gould, George M. (1905). Dictionary of New Medical Terms. London: Bailliere Tindall & Cox. pp. 36.
poison.
- ^ Schmelzer, G.H. & Gurib-Fakim, A. (Editors), 2008. Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 11(1). Medicinal plants 1. PROTA Foundation, Wageningen, Netherlands / Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, Netherlands / CTA, Wageningen, Netherlands. 791 pp.
- ^ Kinloch, Bruce (1988). The Shamba Raiders. Hampshire: Ashford. pp. 21. ISBN 1852530359.
- ^ Stewart, Amy (2009). Wicked Plants. p. 5.