The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Acokanthera
Also called Hottentot Poison Bushes, Poison Trees
Acokanthera is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae. It comprises 5 species and is generally restricted to Africa, although A. schimperi also occurs in Yemen. Its sap contains the deadly toxin ouabain, a glycoside that causes heart failure. The sap is among the most commonly used in arrow poisons, including those used for poaching elephants.
The poison it contains works by stopping the heart, like most other arrow poisons.
Acokanthera laevigata · African Wintersweet · Bushman's Poison · Round-leaved Poison-bush · Arrow Poison Tree
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Acokanthera by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
