Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Vogel bomb here. Whether you climb them, hug them, or merely admire them, trees are one part of nature that are so easy to love, helping produce the air we breathe, offering shade from the sun and providing sweet, nutritious fruit and nuts. But love isn't exactly what you'll feel if you get too close to the mans neel tree. Known as the most dangerous tree in
the world. It's found along sandy beaches and mangroves and tropical climate stretching from Florida to the Caribbean and down into parts of Central and South America, and this tree can cause a world of hurt. The mansion eels small apple like fruit definitely won't keep the doctor away. It packs such a poisonous punch that the Spanish conquistadors called it LeMond Andia de la morte, or little apple of Death.
The ominous name may sound extreme, but history shows that indigenous people's used the sap to poison their arrows and can staminate the water supply of the invading Spaniards. While there are no reported instances in modern botanical literature of anyone dying from ingesting the innocent looking fruit. If you were to bite into it, the sweet taste would quickly turn quite painful. Mansioneel fruit cause intense burning and severe swelling of the throat. The areas around the mouth may
get inflamed and blister, and potentially severe digestive problems can ensue. Unfortunately, the danger doesn't stop there. Just touching the leaves even briefly, or using the tree as an umbrella during a rainstorm will cause blistering lesions on your skin, and if you get any of the sap or smoke from burning the wood in your eyes, you'll most likely experience temporary blindness. Symptoms may last eight hours before they begin to subside.
But the tree isn't entirely evil. The deep growing roots prevent soil erosion, and it provides a safe home and full belly for at least one lucky reptile, the grobo or striped iguana of Central and South America, which is immune to the tree's poison. And despite the risk, removing the mansion eel and even using the harvested wood is possible after burning it at the base and standing far far away, The fallen tree is dried in the sun until it's safe to cut. The wood is then used
to make beautifully, unique and safe furniture. While many manchineel trees are marked with a large red X or a sign explaining the danger, you'll want to know what to look out for should you ever happen to be traveling in an area where they grow. The bark is a reddish gray, and the shiny leaves can be two to four inches long and one to three inches wide, laid out in an alternating pattern on the stem, along with
spikes of small yellowish green flowers. For our metric friends, those leaves are five to ten centimeters by two by eight centimeters. So before you pick up what looks like a free afternoon snack or lean against a random tree while exploring a tropical destination, stop and make sure it's not a manchineel. Sure it helps clear the air, offers shade, and produces fruit, but this is one tree you'll definitely want to love from afar. Today's episode was written by
Katie Carmen and produced by Tyler Clang. For more in this and lots of other topics, visit how stuffworks dot com. Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.