Along the coasts of the Caribbean, Central America, the northern edges of South America and even in South Florida, you can find a kind of pleasant looking beach tree, often loaded with small yellow-green fruits very similar to apples, whose pleasant aroma invites you to take a bite out of them. It is best not to fall into such temptation, for it is a poisonous fruit.
We are referring to the Manchineel tree (Hippomane mancinella), also known as the beach apple, chamomile of death, tree of death or poisonous guava.
The Manchineel is a beautiful round top tree that grows up to 12 meters (40 feet). It has long, elliptical, yellowish-yellow-green leaves, yellow-green flowers and a reddish-brown to grayish-brown, deeply furrowed or cracked rind.
Its attractive, yellow to reddish fruits and sweet aroma have poisoned the Spanish conquerors, the shipwrecked and today’s tourists.
This is no exaggeration, the interaction and ingestion of any part of this tree can have serious consequences. This tree produces a thick, milky sap that can exude from leaves, branches, bark and fruit.
The sap is known to cause blisters and burns when it comes into contact with the skin. Contact with the eyes has been reported to cause severe inflammation and even temporary blindness. But these effects have also been recorded by the irritant compounds carried in the smoke of the burning wood of this tree.
The specific toxins found in the sap and fruits of this tree remain partially unknown. However, despite the risk it poses, the ancient aboriginal peoples of the Caribbean were familiar with the tree and used it for many purposes; the sap, in particular, was used to poison the tips of its arrows.
The Manchineel tree is a member of a family of plants known as’spurges’, a name derived from the word’purge’, because although all these plants have toxic sap, the intensity of toxicity varies and in some regions they use it as a laxative.
It has been documented that gum from the bark of this tree has been used to treat venereal diseases and hydrops in Jamaica, while nuts have been used as diuretics.
Although the manchineel tree is poisonous to humans and many animals, the locust tree or iguana from Central and South America is capable of eating the fruits of this tree, and is sometimes found living among the branches of the tree.
Reference: On the Active Principles of the Spurge Family Skin Irritants, Cocarcinogens, and Cryptic Cocarcinogens from the Latex of the Manchineel Tree. Journal of Natural Products, 1984. https://doi.org/10.1021/np50033a015