The World’s Most Poisonous Tree: The Manchineel Tree
The Little Apple of Death
Across the coast and wetlands of the Americas, the Manchineel tree has come to be known as the world’s most deadly tree.
The tree is so poisonous that simply touching its bark can cause serve rashes. Getting rainwater that’s touched the tree in your eyes can lead to temporary blindness, as can the smoke from burning the wood of the tree. The sap will also cause serve rashes, but it’s the fruits that have become infamous the world over. Eating one of the small apples from the Manchineel tree will cause tremendous pain and swelling in the throat, and for some unlucky individuals this can lead to death by asphyxiation.
However, resourceful humans have found a use for this deadly tree, both to hurt and to heal.
History of the Manchineel Tree
The tree was likely known to the native peoples of the Americas for centuries, but with practically no records from these peoples, it’s impossible to confirm for what length of time, and how, they made use of it. The first time the tree enters the historical record for our purposes is in the late 15th and early 16th centuries with the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors.
