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Hippomane mancinella
Also called Manchineel Tree, Manganeel Tree, Manzalina, Manzallenja, Manzanilla
Manchineel is a coastal tree of the spurge family, native to the Caribbean, Florida, Central America and northern South America, prized in the past for its wood but dangerously toxic in every part. It is best admired from a distance and is not a plant to grow in a home garden.
The manchineel tree (Hippomane mancinella), also known as the tree of death, is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae). Its native range stretches from tropical southern North America to northern South America.
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.
All parts of the tree contain strong toxins. The tree contains 12-deoxy-5-hydroxyphorbol-6-gamma-7-alpha-oxide, furocoumarins, sapogenines, hippomanins, mancinellin and other phorbol esters, which are responsible for the manchineel's toxicity.
Its milky white sap produces strong allergic contact dermatitis. Standing beneath the tree during rain will cause blistering of the skin from mere contact with this liquid: even a small drop of rain with the sap in it will cause the skin to blister. Burning the tree may cause ocular injuries if the smoke reaches the eyes. Contact with its milky sap (latex) produces bullous dermatitis, acute keratoconjunctivitis and possibly large corneal epithelial defects.
Manchineel is native to the Caribbean, the U.S. state of Florida, the Bahamas, Mexico, Central America, and northern South America.
Despite the inherent dangers associated with handling it, the tree has been used as a source of wood by Caribbean furniture makers for centuries. It must be cut and left in the sun to dry the sap. To avoid dangerous contact with the poisonous parts, the tree may be burnt at the base to fell it.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Manchineel by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
