The Manchineel Tree

It has never ceased to amaze me how often newcomers to the Island fail to heed the advice of those who have lived here for an extended period of time, or listen to those who were born on Bequia. Most visitors are eager to learn as much as possible about the Caribbean and what it has to offer, others arrive with a “know-it-all” attitude that can lead to an unpleasant vacation in the tropics.  Bequia is a beautiful Island, but exposure to natural hazards such as centipedes, fire coral, brazil and manchineel trees should be avoided if at all possible.

Manchineel is one of the most toxic trees in the world, and can be found on Bequia’s leeward beaches. The tree has a milky-white sap containing toxins that cause painful burns, and the sap is present in every part of the tree. The bark, the leaves and the fruit can cause severe blistering, and the burns spread when the blisters break open. If you carelessly take shelter under a manchineel tree when it’s raining, the water dripping from the leaves will cause blistering wherever it touches you. Burning a manchineel tree is risky as well, the smoke can cause temporary and even permanent blindness. The manchineel apples, referred to by Christopher Columbus as “mazaniya de la muerte” (little apples of death) can be fatal if ingested. They resemble harmless green crabapples, but if eaten will cause severe gastroenteritis with bleeding and terrible burns to the airway.

Mac and I were at De Reef one day and saw a young man pick a manchineel apple from a near-by tree. We shouted to him when we saw he intended to eat the apple but it was too late, he had already taken a bite.  Luckily the apple wasn’t to his liking and he spit it out, otherwise his throat and stomach would have blistered.  His mouth was a mess though, that one bite of a manchineel apple spoiled his vacation.

I recently came across a family playing on the beach, and was horrified when I realized that the father and his two small children were playing catch with manchineel apples they had found on the beach. It had rained earlier that day, and knowing that the apples were more likely to have sap on them I warned the father not to touch the apples. I assume he didn’t understand what I was saying because he simply glared at me and resumed tossing the apples. I repeated my warning to no avail, the man totally ignored me. I hoped for the sake of the small children that they didn’t get blisters or try to eat the pretty little apples!  I also tried to warn a man who was reading in a hammock under a machineel tree, rain was coming and I figured he would want to know that the sap was poisonous. A warning sign was actually nailed to that particular tree, and when I pointed it out and tried to explain why he should choose a different tree he was quite rude to me. Some people just don’t want to listen.

Mac and I were once invited to a toga party on board the Yankee Clipper, and Mac screamed in horror when he saw the costume one of the passengers was wearing. Much to the glee of the passengers and crew, the man’s wife had carefully sewn a garland of leaves for her husband’s forehead and more leaves covered his genitals. Mac had recognized the leaves immediately, and although the couple quickly removed the poisonous costume the damage had been done. Although the costume gave everyone a good laugh, that poor man was dreadfully blistered, his wife’s hands were burnt raw from handling the leaves, and the rest of their voyage was unpleasant to say the least.

Island visitors who don’t know about the manchineel tree and get blistered is understandable, someone born and bred on Bequia not so much!  Mac’s friend Mackie Simmons decided to remove a manchineel stump growing in front of De Reef’s parking lot, it served no purpose and was unattractive. Neither Mackie, Mac or any other local for that matter thought burning the stump was a bad idea, it was dead and there were no leaves or apples to worry about.  Mackie, wearing loose bathing trunks, stood over the smoking stump all day long and no-one saw any danger in that. Poor Mackie, the smoke drifted up the legs of his swimming trunks, and what that smoke did to his privates was dreadful! Each time a blister broke the liquid burned a fresh hole in his tender skin, and it took weeks to heal. Great balls of fire!

Decades later I experienced my first manchineel burn and can attest to its painfulness. I hadn’t picked up an apple, nor stood under a tree in the rain, I had simply collected some sea glass from the beach. I got a rash under my chin that gradually spread down my throat, and the burning itchiness nearly drove me nuts. It took a while for me to realize that I had a minor case of manchineel poisoning, I must have picked up sea glass with sap on it and rubbed my hand under my chin.  I can only imagine how truly awful a bad case would be.

You live and learn, that’s for sure!