Cnestis polyphylla, or itch pod, is a liane or scrambling shrub belonging to the family Connaraceae and occurring south from Kenya in East Tropical Africa through Mozambique and Zimbabwe to Southern Africa where it is found in coastal and escarpment forest in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Eswatini and KwaZulu-Natal, and further south to the Eastern Cape.

Leaves are imparipinnate and alternate, with oblong opposite leaflets, having an oblique base and blunt apex, 2.5 – 3 cm long and thinly pubescent below.

The almond-shaped capsule has a hornlike process at its tip, and dehisces by a longitudinal split when mature to reveal large, shiny, blackish-brown seeds with a basal yellowish aril.

The capsules are covered inside and out with rigid reddish-brown hairs which penetrate human skin with ease and cause intense itching.

[2][3] All parts of the plant are rich in the potent neurotoxin glabrin, causing convulsions in most animals, and leading to its use as a fish poison.