Acokanthera

Habit of Acokanthera rotundata in the habitat near Louwsburg in KwaZulu -Natal, South Africa

The Acokanthera are a genus within the family of the dogbane family ( Apocynaceae ). The five species are native to tropical and southern Africa and Arabia. Some species are called Beautifully poison.

• 4.1 Notes and references

Description

Appearance and leaves

Acokanthera species grow as evergreen trees or shrubs. They contain white latex. The ( almost) against constantly arranged leaves have a more or less short petiole. The leaf blade is easy.

Inflorescences and flowers

The schirmrispigen inflorescences are lateral, more than on short Blütenstandsschäften or are sessile, often in bundles. A pedicel is hardly recognizable.

The most sweet-scented flowers are hermaphrodite, radial symmetry and fünfzählig. The five small sepals are fused only briefly and have no glands on the inside. The five white or pink toned petals are fused salverform and the corolla tube widens slightly near the Kronschlundes. The five short Kronlappen overlap to the left. There is no Nebenkrone available. The five stamens are inserted in geweitem area of ​​corolla tube. The stamens are short. The anthers are ovate to oblong and apiculate; the connective produced into a short, hairy tiny point and is short bilobed at the base. A disc does not exist. The two carpels are fused to an upper permanent, two-chambered ovary. Each ovary chamber contains only one ovule. The thread-like stylus is at the top of cylindrical or conical short with a ring of papillae and ends in a short two-lobed stigma.

Fruit and seeds

The spherical to elliptical berries possess a woody endocarp and contain one or two seeds.

The seeds do not have a tuft of hair and contain the embryo with two broadly ovate or nearly heart-shaped cotyledons ( cotyledons ) and a constant upper radicle.

Wood

The wood of Acokanthera ouabaio contains ouabain, which is identical to the gratus obtained from officinal Strophanthus g - strophanthin. ( Gilg, Thomas & Schedel: The Strophanthus question Berlin 1904, page 31. )

Systematics and distribution

The genus Acokanthera was erected in 1837 by George Don in A General History of the Dichlamydeous Plants, 4, p 485. A synonym for Acokanthera G.Don is Toxicophlaea Harv .. The genus name Acokanthera derives from the Greek words for acoce stachelspitzig and anthera for dust bag, thus represents a stachelspitzigen dust bag.

The Acokanthera species are native to tropical and southern Africa and Arabia.

The genus belongs to the tribe Acokanthera Carisseae in the subfamily Rauvolfioideae within the family Apocynaceae.

There are about five Acokanthera species ( German trivial name from GRIN):

• Acokanthera laevigata Kupicha: It occurs only in Tanzania and northern Malawi.
• African Beautiful Gift ( Acokanthera oblongifolia ( Hochst. ) Codd, syn: Acokanthera spectabilis ( Sond. ) Hook f, Carissa oblongifolia Hochst, Toxicophlaea spectabilis Sond. .. ): It comes only in southern Mozambique and the South African provinces of Eastern Cape and KwaZulu- Natal ago.
• Bushman Nice Gift ( Acokanthera oppositifolia ( Lam.) Codd, syn: Acokanthera longiflora Stapf, Acokanthera venenata auct, Cestrum oppositifolium Lam, Cestrum venenatum Thunb.. . ): It is widespread in Kenya, Tanzania, southern Zaire, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, and large parts of South Africa.
• Acokanthera rotundata ( Codd ) Kupicha ( Syn: Acokanthera schimperi var rotundata Codd ): It comes in Zimbabwe, Swaziland and South African provinces of KwaZulu -Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga ago
• Arrowhead Nice Gift ( Acokanthera schimperi ( A.DC. ) Benth & Hook f ex Schweinf, Syn: .. . Acokanthera ouabaio Cathel ex L. Lewin, Carissa schimperi A.DC.. ): It is found in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Yemen, Kenya, northern Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and eastern Zaire ago.

Use

Acokanthera oblongifolia and Acokanthera oppositifolia be used as an ornamental plant.

Swell

• Bingtao Li, Antony JM Leeuwenberg & David J. Middleton: Apocynaceae: Acokanthera, pp. 147 - text the same as printed text online, In: Wu Zheng -yi and Peter H. Raven (eds.): Flora of China, Volume 16 - Gentianaceae through Boraginaceae, Science Press and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing and St. Louis, 1995. ISBN 0-915279-33-9