Ask Stewart: Are There Any Scary Trees?

Happy Halloween, Stewart,

Are there any scary trees?

Casper

I’m usually only scared when there are no trees for me to climb.  But some trees are dangerous, and that is pretty scary.

Triplaris Americana is one of those dangerous trees.  In an unusual arrangement, T. Americana hosts colonies of red ants, and it has trouble surviving without them.  The ants occupy minute tunnels just beneath the bark.  In return for shelter, the ants attack anything that touches the tree – insect, bird, unwary writer. The venom-squirting ferocity of their attack gives T. americana its local nickname: devil tree.  Found throughout the neotropics, from Panama to Brazil, the ants protect the tree from insects and herbivores who want to eat the leaves, and they also prevent seedlings and lianas from growing under or on the tree. When the ants die, the tree also gets nitrogen from the decomposing bodies. In return, the ants get refuge inside of the tree and they also feed on sugars produced by the tree. Trees that benefit from ants living inside them are called myrmecophytes.

Another scary tree is the manchineel tree (Hippomane mancinella), a species of flowering plant in the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae).  Manchineel is native to the Caribbean, Florida, the Bahamas, Mexico, Central America, and northern South America.  All parts of the tree contain strong toxins, some of which are unidentified. Its milky white sap contains phorbol and other skin irritants that cause severe allergic contact dermatitis. Standing beneath the tree during rain can cause skin blistering from contact with this liquid. A present-day Spanish name is manzanilla de la muerte, “little apple of death”. Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León died shortly after an injury incurred in battle with the Calusa in Florida—being struck by an arrow that had been poisoned with manchineel sap.

Now that is scary!

Have a TREE-mendous Day!

Stewart

Stewart the squirrel is the mascot of the Front Royal/Warren County Tree Stewards — https://treesfrontroyal.org — a volunteer organization formed in 1997 to promote the health of trees in our community.  Stewart will answer your tree questions in the Royal Examiner twice a month. To learn more about Tree Stewards, visit the website above.