manchineel

American  

[man-chuh-neel] / ˌmæn tʃəˈnil /

noun

1. a tropical American tree or shrub, Hippomane mancinella, of the spurge family, having a milky, highly caustic, poisonous sap.

---

manchineel British  

/ ˌmæntʃɪˈniːl /

noun

1. a tropical American euphorbiaceous tree, Hippomane mancinella, having fruit and milky highly caustic poisonous sap, which causes skin blisters

---

Etymology

Origin of manchineel

1620–30; earlier mancinell, mançanilla < French mancenille and its source, Spanish manzanilla, diminutive of manzana apple, Old Spanish mazana < Latin ( māla ) Matiāna (apples) of Matius Roman author of a cooking manual (1st century b.c.)

Example Sentences

We had eaten the fruit of the manchineel, the world’s deadliest tree.

From The New Yorker • Apr. 22, 2019

The trees lack the thorns of acacia, the poisonous fruit of the manchineel tree and the botanical jaws of Venus flytraps.

From Washington Post • Mar. 31, 2017

“It’s the manchineel tree,” Captain Smith says when things have quieted down.

From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone

But then I remembered the chair at Hemingway's house had been lodged in a manchineel tree and must have been coated with a little bit of the tree's caustic sap.

From "Hole in My Life" by Jack Gantos

I untangled an aluminum lawn chair which had blown into a manchineel tree.

From "Hole in My Life" by Jack Gantos