Acokanthera oblongifolia
Acokanthera oblongifolia
Safety & Hazards
The fruit is highly toxic, especially when unripe, but the ripe fruits have also caused fatalities in children[1]. The stem bark and root bark are used as a potent arrow poison, for homicide, suicide and to kill stray dogs[1]. Contact with the plant can cause urticari, smarting of the eyes and skin, and throat irritation[2].
Cultivation Details
A plant mainly found in the subtropics, just moving into the tropics in Mozambique. It is found at lowland elevations up to 950 metres[3]. Established plants can tolerate some frost. Succeeds in full sun, but prefers a position with some shade. Established plants are drought resistant.
Propagation
Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-19. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Acokanthera+oblongifolia>
Pollinators
Data unavailable
References
- [1]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
- [2]BoDD (Botanical Dermatology Database) — http://bodd.cf.ac.uk/ ↩︎Brief notes on a very wide range of plants that have reports of causing harm to the skin.
- [3]African Flowering Plants Database — Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques. · http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php ↩︎Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map.