The manchineel tree (Hippomane mancinella) will get you any way it can. If you lightly brush up against it, its sap will burn your skin, causing blistering. If you’re near it when it’s raining and a drop of water containing even a little bit of its sap rolls onto your skin, it will burn you. It can cause blindness.
A single bite of its fruit can be fatal. If this poisonous tree is burned, its smoke can make you go blind.
You could say it’s well protected from anything that would want to damage it. Or you could say its purpose is to torment all living beings.
It holds a Guinness World Record for being the world’s most dangerous tree. If you’re in the Florida Everglades or along the Caribbean coast where it grows, beware.
See what happened to Adam Anderson when he encountered this killer tree in Antigua.
“My eyes burn and my mouth is on fire and my tears are made of hot sauce,” he said. On a scale of 1 to 10, he rated the pain caused by his encounter a 10. “I hate manchineel.”
