The mancinella tree is considered one of the most dangerous woody plants on the planet. Its juice is extremely toxic. A person can get severe poisoning, even when standing next to a tree. After all, the dew flowing from its leaves has toxic properties. What is this dangerous representative of the flora? Is this tree used in industry? We will consider these issues in the article.
general description
The mancinella tree belongs to the family of euphorbiaceae. This is a fairly tall plant (up to 15 m long) with a lush crown and sprawling branches. Its bright green leaves are oval and have a glossy surface.
The fruits resemble small apples in appearance. They emit a very pleasant sweetish aroma, but are filled with extremely toxic juice. Inside each fruit are small brown seeds. The mancinella tree is an evergreen plant. However, in the dry season, its foliage may fall.
Flowering tree continues year round. But especially magnificent the mancinella blooms in early spring. The flowers are small (about 3 mm), yellowish in color.
Photos of mancinella can be seen below.
Habitat
Mancinella grows in the Western Hemisphere. This tree can be found in the state of Florida (USA), as well as in the countries of South America and the islands of the Caribbean.
This plant is very fond of moisture, so most often it grows on the coasts and is exposed to strong winds. Therefore, its branches are often bent and deformed. In the photo of the mancinella tree, you can see the unusual shape of the crown.
Poison properties
Like many other plants in the euphorbia family, mancinella contains milky juice. Its composition includes a toxic substance - phorbol. Therefore, the mancinella tree is otherwise called the "tree of death."
Tree sap has a systemic toxic effect on the body. It also very irritates the skin and mucous membranes. Even a few drops of this substance cause a severe burn. Exposure to the juice leads to an inflammatory reaction and the appearance of blisters. It is a very caustic liquid that can burn even cotton fabrics.
Scientists have explored the properties of mancinella juice. Phorbol toxin has been found to be a potent carcinogen. If a person is in contact with wood for a long time, then he has a significantly increased risk of cancerous tumors.
Danger
Poisonous milky juice is found in the following parts of the tree:
- bark;
- the fruits;
- leaves;
- flowers.
Especially dangerous is the eating of mancinella. This leads to a rapid burn of the esophagus and throat. Penetration of juice into the stomach causes perforation of the organ wall. Often there are cases of eye damage. If even a small amount of juice gets into the organ of vision, this can lead to complete blindness.
You can get poisoning and burns not only when eating fruits or when the skin comes in contact with milky juice. Phorbol toxin is highly soluble in water. If a person is standing under the branches of a tree, then poisonous dew from leaves can get on his skin. It is also very dangerous to hide from rain under the branches of a mancinella. Drops of moisture mixed with tree sap cause severe burns on skin contact. If the poison enters the wound, it leads to fatal poisoning.
Historical facts
In history, there have been many cases of mancinella poisoning. Local tribes have long used the juice of this tree as a poison for arrows.
In the Middle Ages, the pleasant smell of trees attracted sailors from Europe. Often they ate fragrant and juicy fruits. This ended in severe poisoning, from which many people died. The tree is called the "apple of death."
In history, cases of severe intoxication have been noted even when trying to cut down a tree or break off its branch. At the same time, poisonous juice was sprayed and fell on the skin.
Cases of poisoning are noted in our days. Most often, people consume the fruits of this tree, unaware of their toxic properties. Radiologist Nicole Strickland has published in the British Medical Newsletter an article about her poisoning with mancinella. During a vacation in Tobago, she accidentally saw several small green fruits on the beach sand and bit off a small piece from one of them. The fruit was fragrant and sweet in taste. Soon, the woman felt a burning sensation in her throat, which after 2 hours turned into intolerable pain. The symptoms of poisoning disappeared only after 8 hours, but for a long time the increase in lymph nodes in the neck continued.
There were cases when tourists who arrived in the Caribbean received severe poisoning, stopping under a wide crown. In the area where mancinella grows, next to a tree, you can see signs warning of the danger. They urge tourists not to touch this plant and not settle down under its branches.
Currently, mancinella is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most poisonous woody plant on Earth.
Tree Destruction Attempts
In the middle of the XVIII century on the island of Puerto Rico, felling of poisonous trees, including mancinella, was carried out. However, it was not possible to destroy this plant. When people tried to chop these trees, poisonous milky juice was sprayed from under the bark. Lumberjacks suffered severe burns and even blindness. Skin lesions were accompanied by the appearance of painful and long non-healing blisters.
Then an attempt was made to burn trees. However, the smoke generated during combustion was also dangerous. He corroded his eyes, irritated the airways and caused a severe headache. Due to the extreme toxicity of mancinella, all attempts to control the poisonous tree failed.
Industrial application
Mancinella wood has a beautiful dark shade and is quite durable. This tree is a valuable and rare species. Therefore, it is used for the manufacture of furniture.
Logging is very difficult. After all, this tree cannot be cut down. Any contact with its bark causes severe burns. Therefore, before felling around the tree, fires are lit. This allows you to dry it with smoke. However, even such processing does not lead to complete evaporation of the juice.
After drying, the tree is dumped and very carefully sawn. At the same time, try to avoid the smallest particles of wood on the skin and eyes. This is a pretty risky process. During exposure to smoke, a lot of toxic substances are released that can cause headaches and pain in the eyes.
Furniture made of mancinella does not pose any danger. During processing, the toxic juice is completely removed. Finished products cannot exude toxins.
Use in medicine
The mancinella tree has not found widespread use in either official or folk medicine because of its high toxicity. However, there is a homeopathic preparation Mancinella ("Hippomania Mancinella"), created on the basis of the alkaloids of this plant. Its composition includes tincture of fruits, bark and leaves. This tool is used to treat mental disorders accompanied by anxiety, fears and hysterical reactions.
Is it dangerous to take such a drug? It is important to remember here that extremely low doses of active ingredients are used in homeopathy. In the process of manufacturing a homeopathic remedy, the juice of the plant is very diluted with water. Such a meager concentration of phorbol is practically safe for the body.
Tree sap is also used in medical research. It is used as a carcinogen in modeling the formation of malignant tumors. This allows you to study in more detail the mechanism of oncological diseases.