Acokanthera oppositifolia
Acokanthera oppositifolia
Safety & Hazards
All parts of the plant, except the fully ripe fruit, are poisonous[ 398 Title Edible Wild Plants of Tanzania Publication Author Ruffo, C.K.: Birnie, A. & Tengnas, B. Publisher Regional Land Management Unit; Nairobi. Year 2002 ISBN 9966-896-60-0 Description A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants. ]. A thick extract, obtained from the cooked roots, bark and leaves of the plant, is used as an arrow poison, which must be handled with care[ 398 Title Edible Wild Plants of Tanzania Publication Author Ruffo, C.K.: Birnie, A. & Tengnas, B. Publisher Regional Land Management Unit; Nairobi. Year 2002 ISBN 9966-896-60-0 Description A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants. ]. The only treatment against the poison is immediate excision of the flesh around the wound[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. Fatal accidents have been caused by eating meat grilled over a fire of sticks from this tree[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. Contact with the plant can cause smarting of the eyes and skin, and throat irritation[ 407 Title BoDD (Botanical Dermatology Database) Publication Author Website http://bodd.cf.ac.uk/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Brief notes on a very wide range of plants that have reports of causing harm to the skin. ].
Botanical Description
Acokanthera oppositifolia is an attractive, evergreen, small tree or multi-stemmed shrub, occasionally long and climbing, growing from 2 - 7 metres tall. All parts of the plant produce a white latex when cut[ 398 Title Edible Wild Plants of Tanzania Publication Author Ruffo, C.K.: Birnie, A. & Tengnas, B. Publisher Regional Land Management Unit; Nairobi. Year 2002 ISBN 9966-896-60-0 Description A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants. ]. Although most parts of the plant (other than the fruit) are poisonous, it is often harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine. The plant is commonly left standing in pasture fields and farm land in order to provide shade, fruit, a source of poisons and medicines[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. It has beautiful flowers and is often grown as an ornamental It is sometimes marketed as a container plant in South Africa and in subtropical and temperate regions[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ].