To avoid danger of injury and death, avoid the manchineel tree at all costs

[Retro]

This thing is as bad as it gets when it comes to poisonous plants and is actually in the Guinness Book of Records for its extreme toxicity. The slightest contact with any part of it will poison you causing significant injury and even death. To stay healthy, avoid it at all costs!

It even kills birds who land on it, or anything else that comes into contact with it. Only the striped iguana which lives in it and eats the fruits is immune to its poison.

I don't like killing any kind of wildlife, including plants, but I think there's a case for eradicating this plant from the environment and only having specimens living in controlled environments away from people where they can be studies and looked after, since it has very few benefits for the environment and other living things. The sticking point is finding a new home for those striped iguanas, but I reckon it can be done.

Of course, all this takes lots of money and political will so will never happen.





Here's more info from the appropriately named Treehugger site:

The manchineel tree (Hippomane mancinella) may be endangered, but so is anyone who messes with it. That's because this rare tropical plant, which offers deceptively sweet fruit, is one of the most poisonous trees on Earth.

Manchineels are notorious in their native habitats, the sandy soils and mangroves of South Florida, the Caribbean, Central America, and northern South America. Many are even labeled with warning signs. According to researchers, notorious colonizer Christopher Columbus is said to have called the tree's fruit "manzanilla de la muerte" or "the little apple of death." But aside from poisoning the occasional conquistador, tourist, and literary character, manchineel is relatively obscure considering it holds the Guinness World Record for "most dangerous tree."

Why Manchineel Might Be Earth's Most Dangerous Tree

The manchineel tree may be endangered, but so is anyone who messes with it. It ranges from South Florida to northern South America.

www.treehugger.com

 

[Tiffany]

You know, this is one tree you have to approach with caution as it grows fruit that looks like apples. I recall reading that Puerto Rico also has this tree and to avoid it all costs. Some plants are very deadly. This plant is super deadly.

Last week, I spotted a strange looking plant growing independently in my back yard. It looks like a fern, sort of. Sometimes stuff blows in our yard from the winds we have as our neighbor also composts so I thought maybe that's what happened. I went to the internet to see what it could be as I'm always cautious about uprooting something that doesn't look right. The nearest confirmation of what it was was poison hemlock or a type of weed that was really close to it. Needless to say, I warned my family not to touch it and the company that treats our yard came out and exterminated it. My dogs didn't have access to this area either.