''Acokanthera'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

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 ...

. It comprises 5 species and is generally restricted to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, although '' Acokanthera schimperi'' also occurs in

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> Its sap contains the deadly

cardiotoxic Cardiotoxicity is the occurrence of heart dysfunction as electric or muscle damage, resulting in heart toxicity. The heart becomes weaker and is not as efficient in pumping blood. Cardiotoxicity may be caused by chemotherapy (a usual example is th ...

glycoside In chemistry, a glycoside is a molecule in which a sugar is bound to another functional group via a glycosidic bond. Glycosides play numerous important roles in living organisms. Many plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycoside ...

'' ouabain''. The sap is among the most commonly used in arrow poisons, including those used for poaching

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

. The poison it contains works by stopping the heart, like most other arrow poisons. ;Species * '' Acokanthera laevigata'' Kupicha - Tanzania, Malawi * ''

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 frag ...

'' (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'' (Codd) Kupicha - Zimbabwe, Eswatini, eastern South Africa * '' Acokanthera schimperi'' (A.DC.) Schweinf. - Yemen, Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Socotra, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zaire

References

Apocynaceae genera Flora of Africa Poisonous plants {{Apocynaceae-stub