Acokanthera Oblongifolia
''Acokanthera oblongifolia'' (commonly known as African wintersweet, dune poison bush, Hottentot's poison, poison arrow plant or wintersweet) is a plant in the family Apocynaceae. It grows as an evergreen shrub or small tree up to tall. Its fragrant flowers feature a white tinged pink corolla. The berries are purple when ripe. Its habitat is dry forest and coastal thickets. ''Acokanthera oblongifolia'' is used in local African medicinal treatments for snakebites, itches and internal worms. The plant has been used as arrow poison. The species is native to Mozambique and South Africa. Taxonomy It was first described in 1844 by Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Hochstetter as ''Carissa oblongifolia,'' reassigned in 1876 to the genus, '' Acokanthera'', by George Bentham and Joseph Hooker, but not validly, and finally, in 1895, validly published by Benjamin Daydon Jackson Benjamin Daydon Jackson (3 April 1846 – 12 October 1927) was a pioneering botanist and taxonomer who wrote t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Hochstetter
Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Hochstetter (16 February 1787 – 20 February 1860) was a German botanist and Protestant minister. Biography Hochstetter was born in Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg. He was the father of geologist Ferdinand Hochstetter (1829–1884). In 1807 Hochstetter received his degree of Master of Divinity in Tübingen. While still a student, he became a member of a secret organization headed by Carl Ludwig Reichenbach (1788–1869) that had designs on establishing a colony on Tahiti (''Otaheiti-Gesellschaft''). In 1808 the organization was discovered by authorities, and its members suspected of treason and arrested. Hochstetter was imprisoned for a short period of time for his small role in the secret society. Later on, he spent six months as a teacher in a private institution in Erlangen, and afterwards was a tutor for four years in the house of the Minister of Altenstein in Thuringia. In 1816 he became a pastor and school inspector in Brno, moving to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Corolla (flower)
Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usually accompanied by another set of modified leaves called sepals, that collectively form the ''calyx'' and lie just beneath the corolla. The calyx and the corolla together make up the perianth, the non-reproductive portion of a flower. When the petals and sepals of a flower are difficult to distinguish, they are collectively called tepals. Examples of plants in which the term ''tepal'' is appropriate include genera such as '' Aloe'' and ''Tulipa''. Conversely, genera such as ''Rosa'' and '' Phaseolus'' have well-distinguished sepals and petals. When the undifferentiated tepals resemble petals, they are referred to as "petaloid", as in petaloid monocots, orders of monocots with brightly colored tepals. Since they include Liliales, an alternative ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Flora Of Mozambique
The wildlife of Mozambique consists of the flora and fauna of this country in southeastern Africa. Mozambique has a range of different habitat types and an ecologically rich and diverse wildlife. This includes 236 species of mammal, 740 species of bird and 5,692 species of vascular plant. The Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany hotspot, with significantly high levels of biodiversity, stretches from the southern tip of Mozambique into northeastern South Africa. Geography Mozambique is located on the southeast coast of Africa. It is bounded by Eswatini to the south, South Africa to the south and southwest, Zimbabwe to the west, Zambia and Malawi to the northwest, Tanzania to the north and the Indian Ocean to the east. Mozambique lies between latitudes 10° and 27°S, and longitudes 30° and 41°E. The country is divided into two topographical regions by the Zambezi River. To the north of the Zambezi, the narrow coastal strip gives way to inland hills and low plateaus. Rugged highland ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Plants Used In Traditional African Medicine
Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclude the fungi and some algae, as well as the prokaryotes (the archaea and bacteria). By one definition, plants form the clade Viridiplantae (Latin name for "green plants") which is sister of the Glaucophyta, and consists of the green algae and Embryophyta (land plants). The latter includes the flowering plants, conifers and other gymnosperms, ferns and their allies, hornworts, liverworts, and mosses. Most plants are multicellular organisms. Green plants obtain most of their energy from sunlight via photosynthesis by primary chloroplasts that are derived from endosymbiosis with cyanobacteria. Their chloroplasts contain chlorophylls a and b, which gives them their green color. Some plants are parasitic or mycotrophic and have lost the ability ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Acokanthera
''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. Its sap contains the deadly cardiotoxic glycoside '' ouabain''. The sap is among the most commonly used in arrow poisons, including those used for poaching elephant. The poison it contains works by stopping the heart, like most other arrow poisons. ;Species * '' Acokanthera laevigata'' Kupicha - Tanzania, Malawi * ''Acokanthera oblongifolia'' (Hochst.) Benth. & Hook.f. ex B.D.Jacks. - Mozambique, South Africa * ''Acokanthera oppositifolia ''Acokanthera oppositifolia'' , poison arrow tree, is a shrub used as the source of an arrow poison and to coat caltrops made from the sharp fruits of the puncture vine (''Tribulus terrestris''). All plants of the genus '' Acokanthera'' contain ...'' (Lam.) Codd - widespread from Cape Province north to Zaire and Tanzania * '' Acokanthera rotundata'' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini. It also completely enclaves the country Lesotho. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World, and the second-most populous country located entirely south of the equator, after Tanzania. South Africa is a biodiversity hotspot, with unique biomes, plant and animal life. With over 60 million people, the country is the world's 24th-most populous nation and covers an area of . South Africa has three capital cities, with the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government based in Pretoria, Bloemfontein, and Cape Town respectively. The largest city is Johannesburg. About 80% of the population are Black South Afri ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Africa to the southwest. The sovereign state is separated from the Comoros, Mayotte and Madagascar by the Mozambique Channel to the east. The capital and largest city is Maputo. Notably Northern Mozambique lies within the monsoon trade winds of the Indian Ocean and is frequentely affected by disruptive weather. Between the 7th and 11th centuries, a series of Swahili port towns developed on that area, which contributed to the development of a distinct Swahili culture and language. In the late medieval period, these towns were frequented by traders from Somalia, Ethiopia, Egypt, Arabia, Persia, and India. The voyage of Vasco da Gama in 1498 marked the arrival of t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Arrow Poison
Arrow poisons are used to poison arrow heads or darts for the purposes of hunting and warfare. They have been used by indigenous peoples worldwide and are still in use in areas of South America, Africa and Asia. Notable examples are the poisons secreted from the skin of the poison dart frog, and curare (or 'ampi'), a general term for a range of plant-derived arrow poisons used by the indigenous peoples of South America. Poisoned arrows have featured in mythology, notably the Greek story of Heracles slaying the centaur Nessus using arrows poisoned with the blood of the Lernaean Hydra. The Greek hero Odysseus poisons his arrows with hellebore in Homer's ''Odyssey''. Poisoned arrows also figure in Homer's epic about the Trojan War, the ''Iliad'', in which both Achaeans and Trojans used toxic arrows and spears. Poisoned arrows are referred to in the Book of Job in the Bible, descriptive of the sufferings experienced by the just man, Job. The modern terms "toxic" and "toxin" derive f ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Apocynaceae
Apocynaceae (from ''Apocynum'', Greek for "dog-away") is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the dogbane family, because some taxa were used as dog poison Members of the family are native to the European, Asian, African, Australian, and American tropics or subtropics, with some temperate members. The former family Asclepiadaceae (now known as Asclepiadoideae) is considered a subfamily of Apocynaceae and contains 348 genera. A list of Apocynaceae genera may be found here. Many species are tall trees found in tropical forests, but some grow in tropical dry (xeric) environments. Also perennial herbs from temperate zones occur. Many of these plants have milky latex, and many species are poisonous if ingested, the family being rich in genera containing alkaloids and cardiac glycosides, those containing the latter often finding use as arrow poisons. Some genera of Apocynaceae, such as '' Adenium'', bleed clea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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George Bentham
George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studied law, but had a fascination with botany from an early age, which he soon pursued, becoming president of the Linnaean Society in 1861, and a fellow of the Royal Society in 1862. He was the author of a number of important botanical works, particularly flora. He is best known for his taxonomic classification of plants in collaboration with Joseph Dalton Hooker, his ''Genera Plantarum'' (1862–1883). He died in London in 1884. Life Bentham was born in Stoke, Plymouth, on 22 September 1800.Jean-Jacques Amigo, « Bentham (George) », in Nouveau Dictionnaire de biographies roussillonnaises, vol. 3 Sciences de la Vie et de la Terre, Perpignan, Publications de l'olivier, 2017, 915 p. () His father, Sir Samuel Bentham, a naval architect, was ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Carl Ernst Otto Kuntze
Carl Ernst Otto Kuntze (23 June 1843 – 27 January 1907) was a German botanist. Biography Otto Kuntze was born in Leipzig. An apothecary in his early career, he published an essay entitled ''Pocket Fauna of Leipzig''. Between 1863 and 1866 he worked as tradesman in Berlin and traveled through central Europe and Italy. From 1868 to 1873 he had his own factory for essential oils and attained a comfortable standard of living. Between 1874 and 1876, he traveled around the world: the Caribbean, United States, Japan, China, South East Asia, Arabian peninsula and Egypt. The journal of these travels was published as "Around the World" (1881). From 1876 to 1878 he studied Natural Science in Berlin and Leipzig and gained his doctorate in Freiburg with a monography of the genus ''Cinchona''. He edited the botanical collection from his world voyage encompassing 7,700 specimens in Berlin and Kew Gardens. The publication came as a shock to botany, since Kuntze had entirely revised taxonomy. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Marcel Pichon
Marcel Pichon (1921–1954) was a French botanist specialising in Apocynaceae. Publications * 1948. ''Classification des apocynacées. 1. Carissées et ambelaniées'' * 1948. ''Classification des apocynacées : . IX. Rauvolfiées, alstoniées, allamandées et tabernémontanoïdées'' * 1950. ''Classification des apocynacées. 25. Échitoïdées et supplément aux pluméroïdées'' * 1953. ''Monographie des landolphiées : Classification des apocynacées, XXXV'' References * Humbert, J-H Jean-Henri Humbert (24 January 1887 – 20 October 1967) was a French botanist born in Paris. He studied physics, chemistry and natural sciences in Rennes and Paris, and following a scientific excursion to Madagascar, he worked as a university as ...; Léandri, J-D. 1955. ''Marcel Pichon, 1921 - 1954''. Taxon 4 (1) : 1-2 * Jaussaud, P; ÉR Brygoo. 2004. ''Du Jardin au Muséum en 516 biographies'', Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, Paris, 2004, 630 pp. External links 20th- ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |