''Hura crepitans'', the sandbox tree, also known as possumwood and jabillo, is an evergreen tree of the spurge family (

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, e ...

), native to tropical regions of North and South America including the

Amazon rainforest The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...

. It is also present in parts of Tanzania, where it is considered an

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

. It can be recognized by its smooth brown bark covered in many dark, pointed spines which have led to its being nicknamed monkey no-climb. Because its fruit explodes when ripe, it has also received the colloquial nickname the dynamite tree.

Description

The sandbox tree can grow to , and its large

ovate Ovate may refer to: *Ovate (egg-shaped) leaves, tepals, or other botanical parts *Ovate, a type of prehistoric stone hand axe *Ovates, one of three ranks of membership in the Welsh Gorsedd *Vates In modern English, the nouns vates () and ovat ...

leaves grow to wide. They are

monoecious Monoecy (; adj. monoecious ) is a sexual system in seed plants where separate male and female cones or flowers are present on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system alongside gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy. Monoecy is conne ...

, with red, un-petaled

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. Male flowers grow on long

spikes The SPIKES protocol is a method used in clinical medicine to break bad news to patients and families. As receiving bad news can cause distress and anxiety, clinicians need to deliver the news carefully. By using the SPIKES method for introducing a ...

, while female flowers grow alone in leaf

axils A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

. The sandbox tree's

fruits 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 particula ...

are large,

pumpkin A pumpkin is a vernacular term for mature winter squash of species and varieties in the genus ''Cucurbita'' that has culinary and cultural significance but no agreed upon botanical or scientific meaning. The term ''pumpkin'' is sometimes use ...

-shaped capsules, long, diameter, with 16

carpel Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

s arranged radially. Its seeds are flattened and about diameter. The capsules explode when ripe, splitting into segments and launching seeds at . One source states that ripe capsules catapult their seeds as far as . Another source states that seeds are thrown as far as from a tree, averaging about .

Habitat

This tree prefers wet

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...

, and partial shade or partial to full sun. It is often cultivated for shade.

Uses

Fishermen have been said to use the milky, caustic

sap Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separa ...

from this tree to poison fish. The

Caribs “Carib” may refer to: People and languages *Kalina people, or Caribs, an indigenous people of South America **Carib language, also known as Kalina, the language of the South American Caribs *Kalinago people, or Island Caribs, an indigenous pe ...

made

arrow poison Arrow poisons are used to poison arrow heads or darts for the purposes of hunting and warfare. They have been used by indigenous peoples worldwide and are still in use in areas of South America, Africa and Asia. Notable examples are the poisons se ...

from its sap. The wood is used for furniture under the name "hura". Before more modern forms of pens were invented, the trees' unripe seed capsules were sawn in half to make decorative pen sandboxes (also called pounce pots), hence the name 'sandbox tree'. It has been documented as a herbal remedy, and is available online.

Gallery

File:Honolulu-GraceCooke-sandboxtree-full.JPG, Large sandbox tree in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

File:Hura crepitans Vietnam.jpg, ''Hura crepitans'' in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

File:Hura crepitans 03.jpg, ''Hura crepitans'' in

Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands Saint John ( da, Sankt Jan) is one of the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea and a constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorporated territory of the United States. Saint John () is the smallest of the thre ...

File:Honolulu-sandboxtree-trunk.JPG, Spiny trunk of ''Hura crepitans'' File:Hura crepitans in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.JPG, Leaf of ''Hura crepitans'' File:Hura_crepitans_seed1.jpg, ''Hura crepitans'' fruit carpel File:Hura_crepitans_seed2.jpg, ''Hura crepitans'' fruit carpel, opposite side

References

External links

Center for Wood Anatomy Research, details about the wood of the Sandbox tree

University of São Paulo: ''Hura crepitans''
photos
www.maya-ethnobotany.org seedpod explosion video
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2001703 Ayahuasca Euphorbioideae Flora of South America Medicinal plants of Central America Medicinal plants of North America Medicinal plants of South America Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Poisonous plants