Excoecaria agallocha

Excoecaria agallocha, a mangrovespecies, belongs to the genusExcoecaria of the familyEuphorbiaceae. The species has many common names, including blind-your-eye mangrove, blinding tree, buta buta tree, milky mangrove, poisonfish tree, and river poison tree. Most of the names refer to its toxic properties or its propensity to cause blindness when its latex comes into contact with the eyes.

This plant grows in saline or brackish water in tropicalmangrove forests, in a distribution bounded to the west by India, to the north by Bangladesh, to the south by Australia. Within Australia, it thrives from northern New South Wales along the northern coastline around to Western Australia. It can also be found along the coastlines of South China.