World's Most Dangerous Tree - The Manchineel
- MAX MEDIA
- Jan 4, 2016
- 2 min read
World's most dangerous tree! The Manchineel tree.
The manchineel tree contains a lethal poison and is known as the world's most dangerous plant. The tree is so poisonous that you don't even have to touch it to die, and locals mark them with red bands to warn people not to get near it.
The tree is a species of flowering plant in the spurge plant family, and It holds the Guinness World Record for the world's most dangerous tree. It can reach up to 15 meters in height with grey bark, shiny green leaves, small green flowers and apple looking fruit.
The manchineel is native to tropical America and is found in the Caribbean, Florida, The Bahamas, Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. The name “mancinella” is from Spanish, meaning “little apple”, for the small green fruit that it produces. But don’t let that small juicy fruit fool you, it is also commonly known as, The little apple of death!
Just being in close proximity of the manchineel can have devastating effects on your health. Standing beneath the tree during rain, will cause your skin to blister. Smoke from burning manchineel will cause blindness if it hits your eyes, and lung problems if you inhale. Its sap contains a number of skin irritants that produce strong allergic dermatitis. In addition, eating its fruit will leave blisters & burns in your mouth and will cause your throat to swell & tighten up, making it difficult to swallow, breathe or live. The raw, soft tissues of your digestive tract will also begin to swell and blister.
The indigenous peoples of the Caribbean & the Americas would not only poison their arrows with manchineel sap, but they would also tie their captives to the trunk of the tree in order to ensure a slow and painful death.
Despite the inherent dangers associated, the tree has been used a source of timber by Caribbean carpenters for centuries. It must be cut and left to dry in the sun to remove the sap first. It is reported that in 1521, Juan Ponce de Leon was struck in the thigh by a poisoned arrow during battle with the Calusa tribe in Florida, and died shortly thereafter.
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