Description: Commonly known as the "Suicide Tree," this deadly plant can be found in Southeastern Asia. Like much of the Apocynaceae family, the Cerbera Odollam is a white flower with five pedals. Described as a medium sized tree, this dicot can grow to 12 meters tall. Unlike most angiosperms, this flowers bears a deadly fruit. The Cerbera Odollam produces a round, smooth, mango-like fruit that contains seeds that, if consumed, will lead to cardiac arrest. The seeds contain a toxin called cerberin and has been used in the past for murder or suicide, mainly in India. The fruits of the Cerbera tree can easily fall and be separated from its original tree due to the close proximity of water that is often near this plant. The fruits split into two halves, each having one poisonous seed. Other names for this serial killer include "yellow-eyed Cerbera," "Pong-Pong," and "Buta Buta."
Distribution
Cerbera odollam is native to muddy river deltas of Southeast Asia and tropical Pacific Islands as far east as French Polynesia.
The tree grows along the sandy coasts, riverbanks and near mangrove swamps. It has been planted in Hawaii and elsewhere as an ornamental.
(Tomlison, P.B. 1995. The Botany of Mangroves.)
Use: Although deadly if consumed, the Cerbera Odollam has helped humans in many different ways. The seeds were used in the Philippines as a fish poison, the wood has been used for gunpowder in Thailand, and oil pressed from the seeds can be used for medicinal purposes. The oil can be used to treat itchy skin, the common cold, or as an insect repellent. Unfortunately, there have been many cases in which the seeds of this plant has been used in suicides. Nicknamed the "Suicide Tree", the seeds work to block calcium channels in heart muscles, thus disturbing a heartbeat.
Cultivation : Growing from seed: Place the seed horizontally on top of the soil and dig it in 1/3 size. It should sprout within 3-4 weeks at temperature above 80-85F (Will take much longer at cooler temepature). You may grow this plant like a "Lucky Bean" and place the pot on your desktop or a window sill. In the ground it will grow in a small-size (8-10 ft) bushy tree.
Diagnostic characters :
Moderate-sized or small tree in back-mangroves ; bark grey, soft and spongy. Leaves fleshy and bright green. Flowers large and white. Fruit ball-shaped, large and green. Latex white, from any part of the plant.
Reproductive biology :
Pollination by insects.
Ecology :
A back-mangrove associated species along brackish waters. It also occur in the inner reaches of tidal rivers where the salinity is typically very low.
Distribution :
Paleotropics. In Sri Lanka along the west coast.
Uses :
Cultivated as ornamental trees.