''Cerbera manghas'', the sea mango, is a small

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

coastal tree growing up to tall. It is native to coastal areas in Africa, Asia, Australasia, and the Pacific islands. It is classified as one of the three species in the genus

Cerbera ''Cerbera'' is a genus of evergreen small trees or shrubs, native to tropical Asia, Australia, Madagascar, and various islands in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. Three trees of this genus are mangroves, '' Cerbera floribunda'', ...

that constitute as

mangroves A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in several ...

Description

The shiny dark-green leaves grow in a spiral arrangement, and are

ovoid An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.) it is given a more precise definition, which may include either one or ...

in shape. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are fragrant, possessing a white tubular five-lobed corolla about in diameter, with a pink to red throat. They have five

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s and the ovary is positioned above the other flower parts. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

s are egg-shaped, long. At maturity they turn bright red.

Toxicity

The leaves and the fruits contain the potent

cardiac glycoside Cardiac glycosides are a class of organic compounds that increase the output force of the heart and decrease its rate of contractions by inhibiting the cellular sodium-potassium ATPase pump. Their beneficial medical uses are as treatments for co ...

cerberin Cerberin is a type of cardiac glycoside, a steroidal class found in the seeds of the dicotyledonous angiosperm genus ''Cerbera''; including the suicide tree (''Cerbera odollam'') and the sea mango (''Cerbera manghas''). This class includes digita ...

, which is extremely poisonous if ingested. This was utilised in trials of ordeal done towards criminal suspects in the

Merina Kingdom The Merina Kingdom, or Kingdom of Madagascar, officially the Kingdom of Imerina (–1897), was a pre-colonial state off the coast of Southeast Africa that, by the 19th century, dominated most of what is now Madagascar. It spread outward from ...

ruling the island of

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

until the practice was abolished during

Radama II Radama II (September 23, 1829 – May 12, 1863 'contested'' was the son and heir of Queen Ranavalona I and ruled from 1861 to 1863 over the Kingdom of Madagascar, which controlled virtually the entire island. Radama's rule, although brief, ...

's reign. On the opposite spectrum,

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

ans use its (''vasa'', ''rewa'') leaves in dried form to treat skin irritations and eye pains. Long ago, people used the sap of the tree as a poison for animal hunting.

Goffin's cockatoo The Tanimbar corella (''Cacatua goffiniana''), also known as Goffin's cockatoo, is a species of cockatoo endemic to forests of Yamdena, Larat and Selaru, all islands in the Tanimbar Islands archipelago in Indonesia. It has been introduced to ...

is one of the creatures known to eat sea mangos. In addition, the

Coconut crab The coconut crab (''Birgus latro'') is a species of terrestrial hermit crab, also known as the robber crab or palm thief. It is the largest terrestrial arthropod in the world, with a weight of up to . It can grow to up to in width from the tip ...

can become toxic to humans if it eats too much sea mango due to a buildup of cardiac

cardenolide A cardenolide is a type of steroid. Many plants contain derivatives, collectively known as cardenolides, including many in the form of cardenolide glycosides (cardenolides that contain structural groups derived from sugars). Cardenolide glycoside ...

Gallery

File:Cerbera tanghin - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-176.jpg File:Cerbera manghas InflorescencesFlower BotGardBln0906a.jpg File:Cerbera manghas flower.jpg, Flower File:Cerbera manghas tree in campus.jpg File:Cerbera manghas fruit.jpg, Unripe fruit

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q714955 manghas Flora of tropical Asia Flora of the Tubuai Islands Decorative fruits and seeds Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Poisonous plants