Acokanthera
Sign in to saveAcokanthera 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.
Species
GENUS
- KingdomPlantae
- PhylumTracheophyta
- ClassMagnoliopsida
- OrderGentianales
- FamilyApocynaceae
Die Acokanthera sind eine Pflanzengattung innerhalb der Familie der Hundsgiftgewächse (Apocynaceae). Die etwa fünf Arten sind im tropischen bis südlichen Afrika sowie in Arabien verbreitet. Manche Arten werden Schöngift genannt.
via GBIF · Kew POWO
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 41
- With media
- 37
- Family
- Apocynaceae
- Collections
- A, NY, MO, WIS, RB, MEL
- Recorded in
- Kenya, South Africa, Malawi, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Brasil, Ethiopia, United States
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Parent taxon
- Carisseae
- Image
- Acokanthera oblongifolia - poison arrow plant - from-DC1.jpg
Show 6 more facts
- taxon name
- Acokanthera
- taxon rank
- genus
- Commons category
- Acokanthera
- topic's main category
- Category:Acokanthera
- taxon common name
- akokantera
Sources (1)
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Encyclopedic overview
1 sectionsContents
- References
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.
thumb|left|225px|Acokanthera schimperifrom Köhler's Medizinal Pflanzen 1897The 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 (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
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Acokanthera” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.