Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Vogel bomb here. Whether you climb them,
Speaker 1: hug them, or merely admire them, trees are one part
Speaker 1: of nature that are so easy to love, helping produce
Speaker 1: the air we breathe, offering shade from the sun and
Speaker 1: providing sweet, nutritious fruit and nuts. But love isn't exactly
Speaker 1: what you'll feel if you get too close to the
Speaker 1: mans neel tree. Known as the most dangerous tree in
Speaker 1: the world. It's found along sandy beaches and mangroves and
Speaker 1: tropical climate stretching from Florida to the Caribbean and down
Speaker 1: into parts of Central and South America, and this tree
Speaker 1: can cause a world of hurt. The mansion eels small
Speaker 1: apple like fruit definitely won't keep the doctor away. It
Speaker 1: packs such a poisonous punch that the Spanish conquistadors called
Speaker 1: it LeMond Andia de la morte, or little apple of Death.
Speaker 1: The ominous name may sound extreme, but history shows that
Speaker 1: indigenous people's used the sap to poison their arrows and
Speaker 1: can staminate the water supply of the invading Spaniards. While
Speaker 1: there are no reported instances in modern botanical literature of
Speaker 1: anyone dying from ingesting the innocent looking fruit. If you
Speaker 1: were to bite into it, the sweet taste would quickly
Speaker 1: turn quite painful. Mansioneel fruit cause intense burning and severe
Speaker 1: swelling of the throat. The areas around the mouth may
Speaker 1: get inflamed and blister, and potentially severe digestive problems can ensue. Unfortunately,
Speaker 1: the danger doesn't stop there. Just touching the leaves even briefly,
Speaker 1: or using the tree as an umbrella during a rainstorm
Speaker 1: will cause blistering lesions on your skin, and if you
Speaker 1: get any of the sap or smoke from burning the
Speaker 1: wood in your eyes, you'll most likely experience temporary blindness.
Speaker 1: Symptoms may last eight hours before they begin to subside.
Speaker 1: But the tree isn't entirely evil. The deep growing roots
Speaker 1: prevent soil erosion, and it provides a safe home and
Speaker 1: full belly for at least one lucky reptile, the grobo
Speaker 1: or striped iguana of Central and South America, which is
Speaker 1: immune to the tree's poison. And despite the risk, removing
Speaker 1: the mansion eel and even using the harvested wood is
Speaker 1: possible after burning it at the base and standing far
Speaker 1: far away, The fallen tree is dried in the sun
Speaker 1: until it's safe to cut. The wood is then used
Speaker 1: to make beautifully, unique and safe furniture. While many manchineel
Speaker 1: trees are marked with a large red X or a
Speaker 1: sign explaining the danger, you'll want to know what to
Speaker 1: look out for should you ever happen to be traveling
Speaker 1: in an area where they grow. The bark is a
Speaker 1: reddish gray, and the shiny leaves can be two to
Speaker 1: four inches long and one to three inches wide, laid
Speaker 1: out in an alternating pattern on the stem, along with
Speaker 1: spikes of small yellowish green flowers. For our metric friends,
Speaker 1: those leaves are five to ten centimeters by two by
Speaker 1: eight centimeters. So before you pick up what looks like
Speaker 1: a free afternoon snack or lean against a random tree
Speaker 1: while exploring a tropical destination, stop and make sure it's
Speaker 1: not a manchineel. Sure it helps clear the air, offers shade,
Speaker 1: and produces fruit, but this is one tree you'll definitely
Speaker 1: want to love from afar. Today's episode was written by
Speaker 1: Katie Carmen and produced by Tyler Clang. For more in
Speaker 1: this and lots of other topics, visit how stuffworks dot com.
Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio. For more
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