Manchineel

Manchineel tree
Fruit and foliage

Secure  (NatureServe)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Genus: Hippomane
Species:
H. mancinella
Binomial name
Hippomane mancinella
Synonyms[3]
  • Hippomane dioica Rottb.
  • Mancinella venenata Tussac.

The manchineel tree (Hippomane mancinella) is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae). Its native range stretches from tropical southern North America to northern South America.[4]

The name manchineel (sometimes spelled manchioneel or manchineal), as well as the specific epithet mancinella, are from Spanish manzanilla ('little apple'), from the superficial resemblance of its fruit and leaves to those of an apple tree. It is also called beach apple.[5]

A present-day Spanish name is manzanilla de la muerte, 'little apple of death'. This refers to the fact that manchineel is one of the most toxic trees in the world: it has milky-white sap that contains numerous toxins and can cause blistering. The sap is present in every part of the tree—bark, leaves, and fruit.[5][6]

  1. ^ Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI).; IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group (2019). "Hippomane mancinella". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T144316752A149054389. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T144316752A149054389.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  3. ^ "World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew". kew.org. Archived from the original on 2022-02-21. Retrieved 2014-10-05.
  4. ^ Nosowitz, Dan (2016-05-19). "Do Not Eat, Touch, or Even Inhale the Air Around the Manchineel Tree". Atlas Obscura. Archived from the original on 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  5. ^ a b Strickland, Nicola. H. (12 August 2000). "My most unfortunate experience: Eating a manchineel 'beach apple'". British Medical Journal. 321 (7258): 428. doi:10.1136/bmj.321.7258.428. ISSN 0959-8138. PMC 1127797. PMID 10938053.
  6. ^ Dean, Signe. "The horrifying experience a radiologist had after eating fruit from the 'tree of death'". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2021-08-24. Retrieved 2024-03-06.