Acokanthera
{{Short description|Genus of plants}}
{{Automatic taxobox
|image = Acokanthera oblongifolia - poison arrow plant - from-DC1.jpg
|image_caption = Poison arrow plant, Acokanthera oblongifolia
|display_parents = 2
|taxon = Acokanthera
|synonyms = *Toxicophlaea Harv.
}}
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.[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=2156 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families] Its sap contains the deadly toxin ouabain, a glycoside that causes heart failure. The sap is among the most commonly used in arrow poisons,{{Cite book | last = Gould | first = George M. | title = Dictionary of New Medical Terms | publisher = Bailliere Tindall & Cox | year = 1905 | location = London | pages = [https://archive.org/details/b29010019/page/36 36] | url = https://archive.org/details/b29010019 | quote = poison. }}Schmelzer, G.H. & Gurib-Fakim, A. (Editors), 2008. Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 11(1). Medicinal plants 1. PROTA Foundation, Wageningen, Netherlands / Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, Netherlands / CTA, Wageningen, Netherlands. 791 pp. including those used for poaching elephants.{{cite book|last=Kinloch|author-link=Bruce Kinloch|first=Bruce|title=The Shamba Raiders|year=1988|publisher=Ashford|location=Hampshire|isbn=1852530359|pages=[https://archive.org/details/shambaraidersmem0000kinl/page/21 21]}}
Image:Acokanthera schimperi - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-150.jpgThe poison it contains works by stopping the heart, like most other arrow poisons.{{Cite book |last=Stewart |first=Amy |title=Wicked Plants |year=2009 |pages=5}}
- 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