Florida’s “Beach Apple” Tree is So Dangerous, It’s in the Guinness Book of Records 

The World’s Most Dangerous Tree is Native to Florida

As if alligators, pythons, and the Florida man weren’t enough, the Sunshine State’s been hiding a plant so deadly it’ll melt your face off.

Okay that’s overdramatic, but this tree is truly dangerous.

It’s called the “manchineel tree.”

This Tree Is Literally Named After Madness

The manchineel tree got its scientific name (Hippomane mancinella) from Greek words meaning “horse” and “madness.”

An ancient Greek philosopher named it this after seeing horses go crazy from eating a similar plant.

The more common name “manchineel” comes from Spanish for “little apple,” because its fruits look just like tiny green apples.

Locals have a more honest name for it, though: “manzanilla de la muerte” — the little apple of death.

This Tree Can Grow Taller Than Your House

The manchineel looks like any other tree with its small, toothed leaves (2-4 inches long) and reddish-brown, cracked bark.

Even the flowers and small, apple-like fruits look unremarkable. But this deadly plant can reach heights of up to 50 feet, about as tall as a five-story building.

It’s Native to Florida

This killer tree grows right here in America, specifically in Southern Florida and the Keys, including the Caribbean islands, Mexico, and Central America.

The manchineel loves coastal areas and typically grows among mangroves in brackish swamp waters and crystal beaches.

It’s Officially in the Guinness Book of Records

Seriously, EVERY part of this tree is extremely poisonous.

The manchineel produces a thick, milky white sap that oozes from its leaves, twigs, bark, and fruit. This sap contains numerous toxins that can cause severe blistering on contact.

That’s why it earned its spot in the Guinness Book of Records as the World’s Most Dangerous Tree in 2011.

Even Standing Near It Can Hurt You

The manchineel is so toxic that touching its sap lightly causes severe skin blisters.

Getting it in your eyes can cause blindness, and standing under it during rain can blister your skin if raindrops carry the sap.

Burning it creates smoke that can blind you.

Its “Apples” Taste Sweet Before They Try to Kill You

Take a bite of what tastes “pleasantly sweet” at first. But that sweetness quickly turns into “a burning, tearing sensation.

Locals call it tightening of the throat” that gets worse until you can barely swallow food because of the pain.

It Has a Deadly History

The manchineel tree is so toxic, it’s been used in warfare. Indigenous Caribs poisoned their enemies’ water supply with its leaves.

Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León died after being struck by an arrow poisoned with manchineel sap.

It Shows Up in Books and Movies

The tree’s deadly reputation has also made it famous in pop culture.

It appears in the 1865 opera “L’Africaine,” where the heroine dies from inhaling its flower perfume.

The 1887 story “The Beckoning Hand” used it as a murder weapon.

In the film “Wind Across the Everglades” (1958), a character calls it “the only tree that carves its initials into you.”

Iguanas Don’t Care About Its Poison

While the manchineel is deadly to humans and most animals, the “garrobo” or iguana of Central and South America can eat its fruits with no problem.

These reptiles are sometimes found living in the trees’ branches, completely unbothered by the poison that would kill us.

It’s Actually Endangered in Florida

Despite being super deadly, the manchineel tree is actually in danger of disappearing from Florida:

• It’s found in 12 conservation areas, mostly in the Florida Keys and southern Florida
• It grows in only 3 counties and 2 habitat types
• It’s “Possibly Extirpated” (locally extinct) in some parks
• The State of Florida lists it as “Endangered”
• It’s considered “Imperiled” by conservation organizations

So while you definitely shouldn’t touch this tree, it still needs protection.