If you ever get a chance to visit the American Everglades National Park in Florida, never touch the apples! Moreover, this warning applies to all of Central America, including in Colombia and Venezuela, and even on the islands of the Caribbean.
If being in this region, somewhere near the water you will come across a tall tree with greenish-yellow fruits (sort of) apples – keep as far away from him as possible! The fruit can be very tasty.. But at the same time deadly tasty – in the truest sense! Because this tree may be a mancinella. It is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as “the most dangerous tree in the world”.
Manchineel tree
And indeed, the manchineel tree is one of the most poisonous trees on the planet. Poisonous juice, which is found in the wood and leaves itself, can cause blindness and blistering of the skin. The fruit itself can cause boils in the throat and mouth, as well as severe bowel damage, which may well lead to death. Finally, the Spaniards nicknamed him for a reason “the chamomile of death”, which literally translates as “little apple of death”.
The manchineel tree contains many poisons, but the most dangerous of them is phorball, which belongs to the diterpene family. The problem is, that these connections are very similar to those, which are present in the human body. It is phorball, eg, mimics the action of diacylglycerol – glyceride, composed of two fatty acids, which in the human body is an activator of protein kinase C. She is very important, tk. regulates cell growth and metabolic activity. Therefore, when phorbols lead to an excessively strong activation of protein kinase C, cells increase gene secretion, involved in inflammation and cell death.
In turn, all this leads to the formation of blisters and sores.. It is important to note, that phorbols are present in every part of the manchineel tree, so you can't even just touch it! And here's another not the most pleasant fact. Phorbols are very water soluble. This leads to an additional risk of chemical burns from the Manchineel tree when it rains., when running water can get on the skin. It is not completely clear that, why did this tree become so poisonous, but here is one of the assumptions.
Since mancinella usually grows in places, where there are so many other poisonous plants, quite possible, that the tree's defense mechanisms have evolved so much, that in terms of toxicity they killed everyone else. Well, then, that because of the poisonous fruits, animals cannot spread its seeds – it doesn't matter either. The tree grows mainly on the ocean coast, so its fruits can travel on its waves, thereby finding new lands.
by the way, some reptiles can feed on the fruits of this tree without compromising their health. And some species of black iguanas live right on these trees.! How do they do it? Scientists are still puzzling over this question..
Moreover, despite all the poisonousness, people also use this tree for their needs. Due to the fact that mancinella usually grows in areas not with the most simple weather conditions – strong winds, hurricanes and so on, its wood is very, very durable. For this reason, cabinetmakers loved him a lot.. Of course, to work with this wood, they need to carry out many treatments, so that no trace of phorbols remains in the wood.
These trees are not only very strong. Their deep roots and thick branches help protect the coast from damaging winds and waves.. In other words – Yes, they are poisonous, but at the same time, they protect people and the entire coastal ecosystem during storms and tsunamis. In nature, nothing exists for no reason. Everything is beneficial in one way or another.
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