Acokanthera oblongifolia was and is still used by the Bushman as a poison to cover the tips of Arrows for hunting. Beautiful white and sweetly scented flowers followed by large, red to purple fruits which turn purple-red to black when mature, but an extremely poisonous shrub or small tree. Acokanthera oblongifolia is a highly poisonous and deadly plant hence the common name, dune poison-bush, and can kill within minutes when ingested or when sap enters into the blood stream. All parts of this tree are toxic including the fruit, especially when it is unripe. The toxin consists of cardiac glycosides which slow down the rate of the heartbeat (Roodt 1998). A. oblongifolia sap has been used in homicide, murders and suicides and as an arrow poison for hunting animals in the olden days, and marauding dogs have been killed with this poison. It has been traditionally used as a medicine to treat snake and spider bites. It is a charming, decorative, dark green bush or tree, with attractive but very poisonous fruits that one might think are edible, as are those of Carissa macrocarpa, the num-num or Natal plum, which is in the same family and which has non-poisonous, edible fruits. This tree can be planted in a pot, best away from young children and pets, and can also be planted in garden beds as background filler.