Blog Search
Archive
Blog Statistics
  • Views: 3643854
  • Articles: 1366
  • Comments: 1027
  • Status: Public
  • Who's Viewing: 5
  • Guest
  • Guest
  • Guest
  • Guest
  • Guest
5 Guests  0 Members
Posted by duddy   June 20, 2016   4235 views

The manchineel tree (Hippomane mancinella) has taken the title of world’s most dangerous tree. This evergreen grows up to 15 metres (49 ft) tall, and is native to tropical southern North America and northern South America. It has reddish-greyish bark, small greenish-yellow flowers, and shiny green leaves ranging in size from 5 to 10 cm (2–4 inches) long.

All parts of the tree contain strong toxins, some unidentified. The leaves and fruit of the tree superficially resemble an apple tree, however one bite of the tree’s fruit can cause abdominal pain, vomiting, bleeding, or death due to an acetylcholine inhibitor known as physostigmine found in the fruit. In addition, its milky white sap contains phorbol and other skin irritants, producing strong allergic dermatitis if touched. The sap has also been known to damage the paint on cars! Burning the tree may cause ocular injuries if the smoke reaches the eyes.

trees poison toxic endangered botony
Posted in Interesting Facts
You might also like...
No Comments | Write Comment
Random Article
   RSS Feed     Atom Feed     RDF Feed