It's a story reminiscent of the children's fairy tale of the witch offering the young beauty a poison apple... too fantastical to believe! However if you munch on this acidic snack in the Galapagos, unless you're a giant tortoise endemic to the isles, the outcome is not that you'll fall into a long languid beauty sleep until prince charming comes to your rescue with a life-giving kiss, but more likely that, unless you get immediate medical attention including a stomach pump, you may die within 24 hours!
A Brazilian surfer friend of ours found out this harsh reality two days ago, and luckily is still here to regale everyone with his tale... (We don't know about the three young British vixens that offered him the forbidden fruit, saying they had been eating the fruits all morning - they boarded a plane the same day and we don't know if they ever realized that the 'plums' they thought had been crunching on all morning, were in fact, death apples!?)
There is a tree here in Galapagos called "Manzanillo" (literally translated from Spanish, the meaning is 'little apple' - in English it is called the Manchineel tree). Hippomane mancinella is one of the most poisonous trees on the planet, and the only poisonous plant native to the Galapagos islands. It's forbidden fruits resemble Granny Smith apples, in miniature, and certainly look juicy and tempting to any dehydrated hiker in the arid, scrub-brush, cactus landscape and rocky coastline of the islands. The rounded leaves, grey bark and general tree-shape also look a bit like an innocuous apple tree, but alas, the giant tortoises native to the islands are the only species that can feed on the plant and not succumb to a bitter end. In fact, this trees leaves and fruits make up a main part of the diet of the indigenous land-tortoises. Some joke that perhaps this is why they are so wrinkled and gnarled.
Humans should not ingest the appealing, yet highly-venomous fruits - there are signs everywhere telling you so. Many trees are even marked with a red X, and in many cases, especially in urban areas, the entire trunk that is within reach of human hands is painted over to avoid an inadvertent encounter. If you obey the general rule on the islands of not approaching or touching any of the plants or wildlife, this tree shouldn't be a problem. But if you're curious, hungry/thirsty, or have a death-wish to tempt fate, and decide to take a bite, our friend tells us you can expect the following: An extremely acidic, uncomfortable feeling in your throat, which them virtually swells shut. Stomach cramps and aches. And, upon visiting the hospital and telling them your woes, immediate hospitalization, stomach pumping, enema, intravenous re-hydration and feeding through a tube, and 24-hours of uncomfortable surveillance waiting to see if the grim reaper is coming for you or not.
In fact, not just the fruits, but the bark and leaves (or the milky-white sticky sap it produces, actually) are also poisonous and causes an allergic reaction if you inadvertently rub up against it... It is said that even standing under one of these trees in the rain is enough to cause the skin to break-out in a violent red rash with blisters and boils!
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