The Deadly Manchineel Tree
🕑 Added 2023-11-17 11:15:01 +0000 UTCA manchineel might be one of the deadliest fruits on the planet… but we do still have some indications as to what it tastes like. Here’s one account I found where the person who took a bite compares it to a very sweet, perfectly-ripe green apple. In this case, luckily, they spat out the fruit, and suffered only a few hours of burning pain in their mouth and throat. They must be one of relatively few people to have tasted the manchineel fruit and lived to report on it.
Comments
Fascinating Horror
Good to know - and I have to say that a "spined iguana" sounds like one of the pointiest and least tasty creatures it'd be possible to take a bite out of!
Angela Schwartz
It grows from tropical southern North America to northern South America.
Where do they grow? I’ve never heard of them but recall eating many a crabapples when I was a kid. 🤷🏻
Elizabeth Finkler Hanasaki
According to Wikipedia, just about the only creature that gets any good out of the machineel is the black-spined iguana. Probably shouldn’t eat those either.