''Acokanthera oppositifolia'' , poison arrow tree, is a

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

used as the source of an arrow poison and to coat

caltrop A caltrop (also known as caltrap, galtrop, cheval trap, galthrap, galtrap, calthrop, jackrock or crow's foot'' Battle of Alesia'' (Caesar's conquest of Gaul in 52 BC), Battlefield Detectives program, (2006), rebroadcast: 2008-09-08 on History Ch ...

s made from the sharp fruits of the puncture vine (''

Tribulus terrestris ''Tribulus terrestris'' is an annual plant in the caltrop family (Zygophyllaceae) widely distributed around the world. It is adapted to thrive in dry climate locations in which few other plants can survive. It is native to warm temperate and t ...

''). All plants of the genus ''

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 '' ...

'' contain toxic

cardiac glycoside Cardiac glycosides are a class of organic compounds that increase the output force of the heart and decrease its rate of contractions by inhibiting the cellular sodium-potassium ATPase pump. Their beneficial medical uses are as treatments for co ...

s strong enough to cause death. ''Acokanthera oppositifolia'' is widespread in southern and central

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 ...

from

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope ( af, Provinsie Kaap die Goeie Hoop), commonly referred to as the Cape Province ( af, Kaapprovinsie) and colloquially as The Cape ( af, Die Kaap), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequen ...

north to

The Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

. ''

Acokanthera schimperi ''Acokanthera schimperi'', arrow poison tree, belonging to the family Apocynaceae, is a small tree native to eastern and central Africa as well as to Yemen. Uses The bark, wood and roots of ''Acokanthera schimperi'' are used as an important in ...

'' is employed for the same purpose. Unlike all other parts of the plant, the ripe fruit is sweet and edible. Unripe fruit are still poisonous, so only really ripe fruit are eaten.

References

oppositifolia Plants described in 1792 Flora of Africa Fruits originating in Africa {{Apocynaceae-stub