Plants in Israel | Acokanthera oppositifolia

Acokanthera oppositifolia, Poison Bush, Bushman’s Poison,
Hebrew: אקוקנטרה ,חד-מאבק רעיל, Arabic: ثبيرة متقابلة الأوراق


Scientific name:		Acokanthera oppositifolia (Lam.) Codd
Synonym name:		Acokanthera longiflora, Acokanthera venenata, Cestrum oppositifolium
Common name:		Poison Bush, Bushman’s Poison
Hebrew name:		חד-מאבק רעיל ,אקוקנטרה
Arabic name:		ثبيرة متقابلة الأوراق
Family:		Apocynaceae, Oleander family, הרדופיים

_{Location: Ben Gurion’s Hut, Sede Boker}


Life form:		large shrub or small tree
Stems:		200–500 cm by 300–500 cm; multi-stemmed shrub
Leaves:		Simple, elliptic or obovate, smooth, leathery
Inflorescence:		Densely clustered flowers in the leaf axils
Flowers:		Tubular flowers (+/-1cm), pinkish outside with 5 white petal lobes; fragrant
Fruits / pods:		Drupe, ovoid , 1-2cm; green, ripening pink-red to purplish-black
Flowering Period:		March, April, May, June, July, August
Chorotype:		South Africa
Summer shedding:		Perennating

_{Location: Ben Gurion’s Hut, Sede Boker}
Derivation of the botanical name:

Acokanthera, Greek akis, a spike; anthera, anthers. The anthers are pointed.

oppositifolia with leaves growing opposite to each other on each side of the stem. arrangement of the leaves.
The common name derives from the fact that the poisonous sap has been used by bushmen (Khoisan) to make poison-arrows.

The standard author abbreviation Lam. is used to indicate JJean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de la Marck (1744 – 1829), a French soldier, naturalist, academic and an early proponent of the idea that evolution occurred and proceeded in accordance with natural laws.
The standard author abbreviation Codd. is used to indicate Leslie Edward Wostall Codd (1908 – 1999), a South African plant taxonomist.

In South Africa extracts of Acokanthera species were used as a component for arrow poison.

_{Location: Ben Gurion’s Hut, Sede Boker}