It can be found in the Caribbean Islands, the Bahamas, the Gulf of Mexico, the northern region of Latin America, the Galapagos Islands and Florida (USA).
When Spanish sailors first discovered this plant while conquering the Americas, they named it “arbol de la muerte,” which means “tree of death.”
Or, tree of death.
When Spanish sailors first discovered this plant while conquering the Americas, they named it “arbol de la muerte,” which means “tree of death.”
Or, tree of death.
This is the manchineel.
According to Guinness World Records, manchineel is the most dangerous tree in the world.
The Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences writes that all parts of the manchineel are highly toxic, and touching or ingesting any part of the tree is likely to be fatal.
According to Guinness World Records, manchineel is the most dangerous tree in the world.
The Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences writes that all parts of the manchineel are highly toxic, and touching or ingesting any part of the tree is likely to be fatal.
This tree has a thick milky sap that oozes out of the trunk.
The sap is poisonous, the slightest touch will cause the skin to blister like battery water.
If exposed to the eyes, it causes severe irritation and can lead to blindness.
The sap is poisonous, the slightest touch will cause the skin to blister like battery water.
If exposed to the eyes, it causes severe irritation and can lead to blindness.
In fact, raindrops that touch the manchineel tree and then come into contact with the skin can cause blistering.
Not only that, cars parked under this tree, if exposed to its sap, will have their paint peeled off.
The bark can release fumes that cause temporary (and in some cases, permanent) blindness.
Not only that, cars parked under this tree, if exposed to its sap, will have their paint peeled off.
The bark can release fumes that cause temporary (and in some cases, permanent) blindness.
Manchineel also has a round green fruit.
Christopher Colombus named it ‘manzanita de la muerte’ aka ‘little apple of death.’ This is the most dangerous part.
Christopher Colombus named it ‘manzanita de la muerte’ aka ‘little apple of death.’ This is the most dangerous part.
If eaten, one can become seriously ill and even die on the spot.
Nicola H Strickland, a radiologist, published an article in the British Medical Journal about her experience eating manchineel fruit while on vacation to the Caribbean island of Tobago.
Nicola H Strickland, a radiologist, published an article in the British Medical Journal about her experience eating manchineel fruit while on vacation to the Caribbean island of Tobago.
While looking for shells and corals, Nicola noticed green fruits hanging from the coconut and manga trees around the beach.
“It was round, the size of an orange, and it fell from a big tree,” Nicola explains.
She and her friend took a bite and found it very sweet.
However, moments later, they both felt a strange pungent taste in their mouths that turned into a burning sensation.
The burning tore through their mouths and choked their throats.
The symptoms worsened over the next two hours, and they could not swallow anything, due to the excruciating pain in the throat.
She and her friend took a bite and found it very sweet.
However, moments later, they both felt a strange pungent taste in their mouths that turned into a burning sensation.
The burning tore through their mouths and choked their throats.
The symptoms worsened over the next two hours, and they could not swallow anything, due to the excruciating pain in the throat.
The bark of this tree is also highly toxic.
If burned, it emits smoke that causes temporary and in some cases permanent blindness.
According to legend, the poison of the manchineel tree killed the Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon, while fighting with the locals after being hit by an arrow dipped in the sap of this tree which caused a slow and painful death.
If burned, it emits smoke that causes temporary and in some cases permanent blindness.
According to legend, the poison of the manchineel tree killed the Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon, while fighting with the locals after being hit by an arrow dipped in the sap of this tree which caused a slow and painful death.
Several prohibition boards have been installed around the tree, so that tourists or passers-by do not approach the tree.
As reported by IFLScience, tourists who do not know about this tree are generally unsuspecting when taking shelter under the manchineel.
As reported by IFLScience, tourists who do not know about this tree are generally unsuspecting when taking shelter under the manchineel.
Manchineel (Hippomane mancinella) is a species of flowering tree from the Euphorbiacea family.
It has bright green oval leaves and reaches 20 meters in height.
Its lush leaves tempt anyone seeking shade or protection from the rain.
While its fruit is sweet at first, it has disastrous consequences for anyone who eats it.
It has bright green oval leaves and reaches 20 meters in height.
Its lush leaves tempt anyone seeking shade or protection from the rain.
While its fruit is sweet at first, it has disastrous consequences for anyone who eats it.
However, there are also animals that can survive eating the fruit and living on the tree, namely the garoobo (striped iguana).
This tree contains 12-deoxy-5-hydroxyphorbol-6-gamma-7-alpha-oxide, hippomanins, mancinellin, and sapogenin, phloracetophenone-2,4-dimethylether in its leaves.
While the fruit contains physostigmine.
Although poisonous, the trunk of this tree has been used by carpenters in the Caribbean for hundreds of years.
In Florida (USA), the manchineel has been declared endangered.
This tree contains 12-deoxy-5-hydroxyphorbol-6-gamma-7-alpha-oxide, hippomanins, mancinellin, and sapogenin, phloracetophenone-2,4-dimethylether in its leaves.
While the fruit contains physostigmine.
Although poisonous, the trunk of this tree has been used by carpenters in the Caribbean for hundreds of years.
In Florida (USA), the manchineel has been declared endangered.
