Acokanthera
Encyclopedia
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 deadly cardiotoxic glycosides. The sap is among the most commonly used in arrow poisons.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of flowering plants in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Apocynaceae
Apocynaceae
The Apocynaceae or dogbane family is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, and lianas.Many species are tall trees found in tropical rainforests, and most are from the tropics and subtropics, but some grow in tropical dry, xeric environments. There are also perennial herbs...
. It comprises 5 species and is generally restricted to Africa, although Acokanthera schimperi also occurs in Yemen. Its sap contains deadly cardiotoxic glycosides. The sap is among the most commonly used in arrow poisons.