''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 n ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

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 the ...

. 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 ''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 ...

'' 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 north and Oman to the northeast an ...

.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 the ...

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 Ouabain or (from Somali ''waabaayo'', "arrow poison" through French ''ouabaïo'') also known as g-strophanthin, is a plant derived toxic substance that was traditionally used as an arrow poison in eastern Africa for both hunting and warfare. O ...

''. 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 * ''

'' (A.DC.) Schweinf. - Yemen, Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Socotra, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zaire

References

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