The mancinella tree (Latin Hippomane mancinella), or mancinella, grows in the Western Hemisphere (Florida, the Caribbean and the Bahamas) - a species of trees in the Euphorbia family … A red ribbon is often tied around it - this is a sign of passers-by not to come close. The plant is widely known for its poisonous milky juice contained in all its parts, including the fruit.
The mancinella tree is one of the most poisonous trees on the planet.
It is a sprawling tree with poisonous fruits that resemble small apples or guavas, and is quite common on the sandy seashores of the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Galapagos Islands. Also native to Mexico, the Antilles, Colombia and the coasts of the West Indies.
Attractive single or growing in pairs, yellowish-red fruits with a sweet smell, at one time claimed more than one hundred lives of Spanish conquistadors, pirates and ordinary European sailors who tried to satisfy hunger and thirst with pleasantly smelling fruits.
These magnificent trees with a branched crown, reaching sixteen meters in height, under the influence of strong coastal winds, can sometimes take on bizarre twisted forms.
The leaves of the macinella are simple, ellipsoid, with pronounced yellowish veins.
The death tree is considered evergreen, however, during dry periods (December-January), it can shed most of its foliage.
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With the onset of the rainy season, inflorescences appear in the form of buds 7 cm long, on which there are one or two small rudimentary female flowers with a diameter of about 3 mm, from the star pistils of which an ovary is formed. Male flowers, even smaller in size, with many yellow anthers, are located side by side, on the same inflorescence.
Flowering occurs almost throughout the year, but the mancinella blooms especially abundantly in March. Fruits are round, about 4 cm in diameter, very aromatic, covered with a shiny grayish skin. There are several brown seeds inside.
All parts of this plant: leaves, bark, flowers, fruits contain a viscous milky sap - a characteristic feature of all euphorbia. It is very toxic and, moreover, has a strong irritant effect. On contact with the skin, irritation, skin burns, blistering and inflammation are observed. The corrosive power of Mancinella latex is so great that it can burn through thin cotton and other lightweight fabrics.
Eye contact causes blindness, as the eyes are practically burned out by this poisonous latex. If it enters the stomach, death occurs from its perforation - the insidious mancinella "eats" real holes in the stomach. The smoke from burning wood is highly irritating to the respiratory tract. Rain and even dew flowing from the leaves of this poisonous tree is a real danger to humans and mammals.
Thanks to all of the above, mancinella is currently included in the Guinness Book of Records as the most dangerous tree in the world.
But some reptiles calmly climb on its branches and even settle there for the night.
Juan Ponce de Leon
According to legend, the Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon died from the poison of this tree. He returned to Florida in 1521 in search of gold and claimed ownership of the areas he had allegedly discovered. Of course, the locals were not going to give him their lands so easily, and during the battle an arrow soaked in mancinella poison fell into de Leon's leg, which led him to a painful and long death.
Nicole Strickland, a radiology consultant, published an article in the British Medical Journal about eating one of the mancinella fruits. During a holiday on the Caribbean island of Tabago, she noticed small green fruits among the mangoes and coconuts lying on the beach sand - they were round, the size of a tangerine, and probably fell from a large tree with a silvery trunk and oval leaves.
She took a bite of the fruit and found it pleasantly sweet, as did her friend. After a few moments, both noticed a strange sharpness in the mouth, which gradually developed into burning, watery eyes and a blocked throat. Over the next two hours, the condition of the young people worsened and they could not swallow a bite due to the excruciating sore throat. The only thing that somehow alleviated the pain was milk. And only after eight hours all pain sensations began to gradually subside.
The English physician and naturalist Erasmus Darwin (Charles Darwin's grandfather) wrote about this tree: “… the dewdrops falling from it are so poisonous that they burn the skin; therefore, many found their death by sleeping in his shadow."
The inhabitants of the Lesser Antilles, the Caribbean, incised the bark of the mancinella and soaked the arrowheads with its thick, poisonous milky juice. This poison was applied to arrows by the Indians of Santa Marta and Cartagena. If such an arrow hit a person, he would soon die.
In regions where mancinella grows, you can often see signs warning passing tourists not to stop to rest under the shade of these trees and not touch its fruits.
In 1733, a royal decree was issued ordering the destruction of all poisonous trees near St. Barthélemy on the island of Puerto Rico. In southern Florida, a general uprooting of dangerous plants around the settlements has been undertaken.
Destroying the Manchinella was not easy. When they tried to cut down trees, the poisonous sap splashed into the eyes, causing inflammation, burning pain. A person lost his ability to work, and sometimes blind. Blisters appeared on the skin, which did not heal for a long time. It was necessary to burn the bark of the tree before felling so that the juice curdled. But the smoke was also dangerous to the eyes.
Mancinella wood has a beautiful pattern with dark veins. She is very much appreciated by cabinetmakers.
But how can you cut down a tree if you can't even touch it? Lumberjacks solve this problem simply: they cover the tree with fires and dry it at the root with hot smoke. Only after that they start felling the tree. And yet, complete dehydration of woody tissues cannot be achieved.
With great care, so that no sawdust gets into the eyes, the trunk is sawn. Some non-commercial timber is used for fuel. But when burning, poisonous smoke is released, which affects the eyes and causes severe headaches.
This is how it is - Mancinell's death tree.