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.
Petasites hybridus, also known as the butterbur, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Asteraceae that is native to Europe and northern Asia.
Nymphaea alba, the white waterlily, European white water lily or white nenuphar, is an aquatic flowering plant in the family Nymphaeaceae. It is native to North Africa, temperate Asia, Europe and tropical Asia.
Chelidonium majus, the greater celandine, is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the poppy family Papaveraceae. One of two species in the genus Chelidonium, it is native to Europe and western Asia and introduced widely in North America.
Withania somnifera, known commonly as ashwagandha, is an evergreen shrub in the Solanaceae or nightshade family that grows in India, the Middle East, and parts of Africa. Several other species in the genus Withania are morphologically similar.
Phellodendron amurense is a species of tree in the family Rutaceae, commonly called the Amur cork tree. It is a major source of huáng bò, one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine. The Ainu people used this plant, called shikerebe-ni, as a painkiller. It is known as hwangbyeok in Korean and (キハダ) kihada in Japanese.
Corynanthe johimbe, synonym Pausinystalia johimbe, common name yohimbe, is a plant species in the family Rubiaceae native to western and central Africa. Extracts from yohimbe have been used in traditional medicine in West Africa as an aphrodisiac, called in some languages burantashi, and have been marketed in developed countries as dietary supplements.
Alstonia constricta, commonly known as quinine bush or bitterbark, is an endemic Australian endemic shrub or small tree of the family Apocynaceae.
Rubia tinctorum, the rose madder or common madder or dyer's madder, is a herbaceous perennial plant species belonging to the bedstraw and coffee family Rubiaceae.
Euphorbia hirta is a pantropical weed, originating from the tropical regions of the Americas. It is a hairy herb that grows in open grasslands, roadsides and pathways. It is widely used in traditional herbal medicine across many cultures, particularly for asthma, skin ailments, and hypertension. It is also consumed in herbal tea form as folk medicine for fevers in the Philippines, particularly for dengue fever and malaria.
Aloe buettneri is a species of succulent plant in the family Asphodelaceae. It is found in West Africa and is known for its medicinal uses.
Berberis aristata, also known as Indian barberry, Mara manjal (மரமஞ்சள்), chutro, sumba, or tree turmeric, is a shrub belonging to the family Berberidaceae and the genus Berberis. B. aristata is native to the Himalayas in India and in Nepal. It is also naturally found in the Nilgiri Mountains of southern India and in Sri Lanka.
Hymenocardia acida is a plant of the family Phyllanthaceae native to tropical Africa. It is a small tree that grows to 10 m tall. Occurs in the Guinea and Sudanian savannah zones and deciduous woodland, from Senegal eastwards to Ethiopia and southwards reaching Zimbabwe.
Ceriops tagal, commonly known as spurred mangrove or Indian mangrove, is a mangrove tree species in the family Rhizophoraceae. It is a protected tree in South Africa. The specific epithet tagal is a plant name from the Tagalog language.
Ivan Addae-Mensah, is a Ghanaian chemist and university administrator who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Legon from 1996 to 2002. He is an Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at the same institution. He is a Life Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Fellow of the Ghana Chemical Society.
Berberis holstii is a spiny evergreen shrub assigned to the barberry family, with simple leaves, hanging panicles with a few yellow flowers and eventually blackish-blue berries. It is one out of only species of Berberis that grow in the wild in Africa, where it can be found at high altitudes in Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Malawi. It is also reported from Yemen and Oman. In Malawi it is known as Kayunga, while in Ethiopia it is called Gewo, Yeset af in Amharic, as well as Zinkila, a name also used in the Afar language, and Godxantool in the Somali language.
Mandragora caulescens, the Himalayan mandrake, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Solanaceae, native to the Himalayas and mountainous regions of Myanmar and south-west China. One of the differences from the other species of Mandragora is that it has a stem, whereas they are stemless. Like all species of Mandragora, it contains tropane alkaloids, making it toxic. It is used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Strychnos icaja is a species belonging to the plant family Loganiaceae, native to West Tropical Africa. It is a very large, tropical rainforest liana which may attain a length of 100 m (330 ft).
Alstonia congensis, is a tree within the Apocynaceae family and one of two African species within the Alstonia genus, the other being the Alstonia boonei De Wild. Both have similar morphological characteristics.
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.
