Manchineel tree

Manchineel tree

Taxobox
name = "Hippomane mancinella"


image_width = 200px
image_caption = Illustration from "Phytographie Medicale" by Joseph Roque, 1821
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
subclassis = Rosidae
unranked_ordo = Eurosids I
ordo = Ericales
ordo = Malpighiales
familia = Euphorbiaceae
subfamilia = Euphorbioideae
tribus = Hippomaneae
subtribus = Hippomaninae
genus = "Hippomane"
genus_authority = L.
species = "H. mancinella"
binomial = "Hippomane mancinella"
binomial_authority = L.
synonyms ="Mancanilla" "Mancinella" and see text

The Manchineel tree ("Hippomane mancinella") is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae), native to the Caribbean and Central America. The name "manchineel" (sometimes written "manchioneel") as well as the specific epithet "mancinella" is from Spanish "manzanilla" ("little apple"), from the superficial resemblance of its fruit and leaves those of an apple tree. A present-day Spanish name is in fact "manzanilla de la muerte", "little apple of death". This refers to the fact that manzanilla is one of the most poisonous trees in the world.

Description

Manchineel is a tree reaching up to 15 metres high with a greyish bark, shiny green leaves and spikes of small greenish flowers. Its fruits, which are similar in appearance to an apple, are green or greenish-yellow when ripe.

The manchineel tree can be found near to (and on) coastal beaches. It provides excellent natural windbreaks and its roots stabilise the sand, thus helping to prevent beach erosion.

Taxonomy

Though numerous species have been named in the genus "Hippomane", they are nowadays usually considered to be junior synonyms of a single polymorphic species. Synonyms include:
* "Hippomane aucuparia"
* "Hippomane biglandulosa"
* "Hippomane cerifera"
* "Hippomane dioica"
* "Hippomane fruticosa"
* "Hippomane glandulosa"
* "Hippomane horrida"
* "Hippomane ilicifolia"
* "Hippomane mancanilla"
* "Hippomane spinosa"
* "Hippomane zeocca"

Toxicity

The tree and its parts contain strong toxins. It will secrete a white milky substance during rainfall. Allegedly, standing beneath the tree during rain may cause blistering of the skin from mere contact with this liquid. Burning the tree may cause blindness if the smoke reaches the eyes. The fruit can also be fatal if eaten.

Many trees carry a warning sign, while others are marked with a red "X" on the trunk to indicate danger.

The Caribs used the sap of this tree to poison their blowgun darts (and maybe arrowsVerify source|date=November 2007) and were known to poison the water supply of their enemies with the leaves. As a form of torture they would tie victims to this tree and leave them exposed to the elements.Fact|date=February 2007

To Europeans, the manchineel quickly became notorious. The heroine of Giacomo Meyerbeer's 1865 opera L'Africaine commits suicide by lying under a manchineel tree and inhaling the plant's vapours. In the 1956 film Wind Across The Everglades a notorious poacher named Cottonmouth (played by Burl Ives) ties a victim to the trunk of a manchineel tree. The poor soul screams as the sap burns his skin, and the next morning he is shown dead with a painful grimace etched on his face. To the audience the image of the deadly manchineel must have been familiar to some degree.

There is also an old English slang term manchineel hands, found in the Caribbean region. Handling dry manchineel may not be harmful as the poison cannot very easily penetrate dry skin. If the hands are brought to contact with mucous membranes however, for example with the lips or the genitals, poisoning can occur. Thus "manchineel hands" came to describe hands that are discolored e.g. from dyestuffs or dirt, or otherwise "tainted". It now can mean anything ranging from discolored hands to sweating hands or any hand related abnormality.Fact|date=November 2007
"to". For poetry, see current town of residence.

Endangered in Florida

This tree is listed as an endangered species in Florida. [http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=HIMA2&photoID=hima2_004_ahp.tif]


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Manchineel — tree Hippomane mancinella fruit and foliage Scientific classification Kingdom …   Wikipedia

  • Manchineel — Man chi*neel , n. [Sp. manzanillo, fr. manzana an apple, fr. L. malum Matianum a kind of apple. So called from its apple like fruit.] (Bot.) A euphorbiaceous tree ({Hippomane Mancinella}) of tropical America, having a poisonous and blistering… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • manchineel — [man΄chə nēl′] n. [Fr mancenille < Sp manzanilla, dim. of manzana, apple < L matianum (pomum), (apple), of Matius, Roman author of a cookery manual] 1. a tropical American tree (Hippomane mancinella) of the spurge family, with a milky,… …   English World dictionary

  • manchineel — /man cheuh neel /, n. a tropical American tree or shrub, Hippomane mancinella, of the spurge family, having a milky, highly caustic, poisonous sap. [1620 30; earlier mancinell, mançanilla < F mancenille and its source, Sp manzanilla, dim. of… …   Universalium

  • manchineel — noun Etymology: French mancenille, from Spanish manzanilla, from diminutive of manzana apple Date: 1630 a poisonous tropical American tree (Hippomane mancinella) of the spurge family having a blistering milky juice and apple shaped fruit …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • manchineel — noun A tropical American tree, Hippomane mancinella, having apple like, poisonous fruit, and a sap that causes blisters on contact with the skin …   Wiktionary

  • manchineel — man·chi·neel (man″kĭ nēlґ) Hippomane mancinella, a tree of tropical America that has a caustic poisonous sap …   Medical dictionary

  • manchineel — n. tropical American tree with poisonous apple shaped fruit …   English contemporary dictionary

  • manchineel — [ˌman(t)ʃɪ ni:l] noun a Caribbean tree which has acrid apple like fruit and poisonous milky sap which can cause temporary blindness. [Hippomane mancinella.] Origin C17: from Fr. mancenille, from Sp. manzanilla, dimin. of manzana apple …   English new terms dictionary

  • manchineel — man•chi•neel [[t]ˌmæn tʃəˈnil[/t]] n. pln a tropical American tree or shrub, Hippomane mancinella, of the spurge family, having a milky, highly caustic, poisonous sap • Etymology: 1620–30; < F mancenille …   From formal English to slang

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