Adenium boehmianum

Adenium boehmianum
The Bushman Poison in flower near the Cunene River, Namibia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Adenium
Species: A. boehmianum
Binomial name
Adenium boehmianum
Schinz

The Bushman Poison is a poisonous succulent endemic to the mostly dry regions of northern Namibia and southern Angola.[1] The San people boil the root sap and latex to prepare arrow poison, which is sufficient for hunting large mammals, as it contains strong cardiotoxic effects.[1] The leaves, borne only for three months a year, are arranged spirally and are clustered near the branch tips. A plant will flower for only a few weeks in winter.[1] The oblong fruit releases many seeds through a longitudinal slit, which due to their lateral tufts, can be dispersed by wind.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Schmelzer, G.H., Gurib-Fakim, A. (2008). Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 11(1), Medicinal plants 1. Wageningen, Netherlands: Prota Foundation, Backhuys Publishers, CTA. pp. 43–45. ISBN 978-90-5782-204-9.

See also

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