Apocynaceae is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the dogbane family, because some taxa were used as dog poison Members of the family are native to the European, Asian, African, Australian, and American tropics or subtropics, with some temperate members. The former family Asclepiadaceae is considered a subfamily of Apocynaceae and contains 348 genera. A list of Apocynaceae genera may be found here.
Alstonia is a widespread genus of evergreen trees and shrubs, of the family Apocynaceae. It was named by Robert Brown in 1811, after Charles Alston (1685–1760), professor of botany at Edinburgh from 1716 to 1760.
Alstonia scholaris, commonly called blackboard tree, Scholar Tree, Milkwood or devil's tree in English, is an evergreen tropical tree in the Dogbane Family (Apocynaceae). It is native to southern China, tropical Asia (mainly the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia）and Australasia, where it is a common ornamental plant. It is a toxic plant, but is used traditionally for myriad diseases and complaints.
Alstonia constricta, commonly known as quinine bush or bitterbark, is an endemic Australian endemic shrub or small tree of the family Apocynaceae.
Zanthoxylum gilletii, the East African satinwood, is a tree species in the genus Zanthoxylum found in Africa. The fruits are used to produce the spice uzazi.
Alstonia longifolia is a plant species in the genus Alstonia, family Apocynaceae. It is native to southern Mexico and Guatemala at an elevation of 1400–1800 m.
Cynometra alexandri, the Uganda ironwood or muhimbi, is a species of legume that occurs in tropical lowland forests of central and east Africa. They grow gregariously in drier forest types and as a constituent of swamp forests. They reach some 120 feet (37 m) to 150 feet (46 m) in height, and larger trees often develop hollow boles and buttress roots.
Clausena anisata (Willd.) Hook.f. ex Benth. is a deciduous shrub or small tree, belonging to the Rutaceae or Citrus family, and widespread in the Afrotropical realm or Sub-Saharan Africa, but absent from the drier regions. It is also found in tropical and South-East Asia, growing in India and Sri Lanka and extending as far as Queensland in north-eastern Australia and some Pacific islands. It is cultivated in Malaysia and Indonesia. As with other plants useful to mankind its large range of medicinal properties has led to a global distribution and its growth wherever the climate is suitable. It grows in higher-rainfall regions in savanna, thickets, riverine forest, disturbed areas and secondary forest, up to an altitude of 3000 m. The leaves, which are foetid when bruised, give rise to the common name 'Horsewood' or the more descriptive Afrikaans common name 'Perdepis', meaning 'horse urine'.
Alstonia boonei is a very large, deciduous, tropical-forest tree belonging to the Dogbane Family (Apocynaceae). It is native to tropical West Africa, with a range extending into Ethiopia and Tanzania. Its common name in the English timber trade is cheese wood, pattern wood or stool wood while its common name in the French timber trade is emien.
Xylopia staudtii Engl & Diels is a tall tree within the Annonaceae family, it can grow up to 50 meters tall, the tallest height of the African Xylopia trees. It occurs in forest and freshwater swamps in West Africa.
Annickia chlorantha is a tree that grows up to 25 meters tall, it belongs to the Annonaceae family. An important tree used in traditional medical practices for the treatment of malaria and various diseases in Nigeria and Cameroon; oil extracted from stem barks and leaves of the species and Annickia affinis, its more common close kin have been widely studied.
Pericopsis laxiflora is a woody deciduous shrub or tree within the Fabaceae family. Sold commercially as satin wood, it is known in some regions as Kulu Kulu, among the Hausa speaking people, it is called Makarfo, the Yorubas call it Ayan and the Igbos call it Abua-Ocha. It is one of three species in the genus Pericopsis genus that occurs in Africa.
Duguetia staudtii is a medium-sized evergreen tree within the Annonaceae family. Species is one of four within the genus Duguetia that is native to Africa.
Funtumia africana is a tree within the Apocynaceae family, it is one of two species within the genus Funtumia.
Landolphia dulcis is a climbing shrub or liana within the Apocynaceae family.
Annickia polycarpa is a small to medium-sized tree found in evergreen forests of West and Central Africa, it is within the Annonaceae family. It is also called the African Yellow wood.
Lannea microcarpa is a dioecious plant within the Anacardiaceae family. It is also called African grapes and occurs in the Sudan and Guinea savanna of West Africa from Senegal to Cameroon. The plant is used to dye basilan fini, a traditional cloth in a red and brown colour.
Manilkara obovata is small to large sized evergreen tree within the Sapotaceae family. Its timber is sold under the name Nkunya in Uganda. The species has a wide distribution from Sierra Leone in West Africa moving east to Uganda in Eastern Africa and southwards to Zambia. It is also considered a variable species having different ecotypes.
Uvariopsis congensis is a species of plant in the Annonaceae family. It is native to Angola, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, Zambia. Walter Robyns and Jean Ghesquière, the botanists who first formally described the species, named it after the Belgian Congo, now called the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the specimen they examined was collected in the town of Kisantu near the Inkisi River.
