A genus of tropical plants in the family Dichapetalaceae, known for their small flowers and highly toxic seeds that contain compounds lethal to animals.
From Greek 'di-' (two) + 'chapetalum' (referring to the plant's floral structure). The genus was formally named by botanists in the 18th-19th centuries as African specimens were catalogued.
Some Dichapetalum species are called 'gifblaar' in South Africa, and their poison (fluoroacetate) was so effective at killing livestock that colonial farmers weaponized it, while the plant itself is now studied for pharmaceutical potential.
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