Acokanthera rotundata (commonly known as round-leaved poison-bush) is a plant in the family Apocynaceae. It grows as a shrub or small tree, with fragrant flowers featuring a white corolla, often pink to red on the corolla tube. The fruit is red to purple when ripe. Its habitat is in rocky areas of dry woodland. Acokanthera rotundata is native to Zimbabwe, Eswatini and South Africa.
From Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Is it poisonous?
Considered toxic. Public sources list it as such; we have not verified this individually. The note covers its whole genus. All five species in this genus exude a sap containing extremely toxic cardiac glycosides including ouabain, which inhibits the sodium–potassium pump N+/K+-ATPase, a membrane transport protein important for regulating… Never eat, touch or handle a wild plant, mushroom or animal on the strength of an identification; ask someone qualified.
Easily confused with
- Acokanthera oppositifolia — considered toxic
- Psydrax obovatus
- Maurocenia frangula
- Beilschmiedia berteroana
- Mystroxylon aethiopicum
- Apodytes abbottii
Classification
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Phylum
- Tracheophyta
- Class
- Magnoliopsida
- Order
- Gentianales
- Family
- Apocynaceae
- Genus
- Acokanthera
- Species
- Acokanthera rotundata
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