Plants trees or shrubs, unarmed; latex white. Leaves opposite, leathery. Inflorescences dense, axillary cymes or clusters. Flowers white, tinged with red, sweetly scented; corolla salverform, the tube cylindrical, lobes overlaping to the left in bud; corona absent; stamens inserted in the top of the corolla tube; filament and connectives with long, stiff hairs; anthers apiculate; ovaries glabrous, of 2 united carpels, with one ovule per carpel; stigmatic heads ellipsoid. Fruit a berry with 1-2 seeds.
Acokanthera has 5 species. All the species contain very poisonous cardiac glycosides.
Note: GBIF records include introduced and cultivated plants. Consequently, the distribution shown often differs from statements about a taxon's native distribution.
