Common Name: Arbol Del Diablo

General Information

Arbol del Diablo is a giant tree, often 30 metres high or more, with a bole a metre or more in diameter[]. The bole is usually straight and regular and free of branches, usually for a great height[]. The branches and bole are densely covered with short, very sharp, hard prickles, the crown is broad and spreading[].
The tree is harvested from the wild for its timber and medicinal uses. This is one of the four or five largest trees of Central America, reaching its best development on the plains or in
the foothills of the Pacific coast, where it often occurs in great abundance, and in some regions is a dominant tree[].

Known Hazards

The milk-like latex exuding copiously from the cut bark or from the broken stems or leaves is caustic upon the skin, in some persons producing blisters and intense inflammation[]. This latex, mixed with meal or sand, is much used in Mexico as a barbasco or fish poison[].
Although occasionally used medicinally, the seeds are known to be dangerously poisonous[]. They are used in some areas to poison noxious animals[].
It is claimed that a person who sleeps under one of the trees amanece muerto, or that at the least the whole body will be covered with blisters. The first portion of this statement is undoubtedly untrue, and there probably is little basis for the second part[].

Botanical References

Range

Central America - Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico.

Habitat

Usually found on forested plains or on dry, often rocky, thinly forested hillsides, at elevations below 1,200 metres[]. It is often found in cleared pastures, about dwellings, or along roadsides[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	25.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

The fruit of the sandbox is curious in appearance and structure, somewhat resembling a diminutive pumpkin or cantaloupe, with the cocci arranged like the sections of an orange. When thoroughly dry, the fruit explodes elastically with great force and a loud report, scattering the seeds to some distance. The force of the explosion
is great enough to burst small boxes in which the fruits may have been stored, or to cause wounds if they strike any part of the body[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The seeds are a violent purgative[]. The pulverized kernels are sometimes administered in small doses to human beings as a purgative and to expel intestinal parasites[]. It is unnecessary to state that such use is dangerous[].

Other Uses

The dry fruits were sometimes used in early days in the British West Indies as containers for fine sand with which letters were dried or 'blotted,' hence the customary name of sandbox[].

Sandbox wood varies in colour from lustrous creamy white to yellowish brown or olive-gray; it is light and soft; medium-textured; more or less woolly; easy to cut; takes stains and glues well[]. It is used in Central America to some extent for construction[]. The wood is used for telegraph poles[].

Propagation

Seed -

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