Tropical Plant Database - Plant Details

Cerbera manghas is a small evergreen coastal tree growing up 12 m tall. The the shiny dark-green leaves are alternate, ovoid in shape. The flowers are fragrant, possessing a white, tubular, 5 lobed corolla about 3 to 5 cm in diameter, with a pink to red throat. There are 5 stamens, and the ovary is positioned above the other flower parts. The fruits are egg-shaped, 5 to 10 cm long, and turn purple-red at maturity. (Smith, A.C. 1988. Flora Vitiensis Nova vol. 4)

The leaves and the fruits contain the potent cardiac substance (a glycoside) called “cerberin”, which is extremely poisonous if ingested. People in olden times used the sap of the tree as a poison for animal hunting (Tomlison, P.B. 1995. The Botany of Mangroves).

In Madagascar, the seeds were used in sentence rituals to poison kings and queens. The fruit was reportedly eaten to commit suicide in the Marquesas Islands, (Whistler, W. A. 1992. Flowers of the Pacific Island Seashore).
In Hawaii Cerbera manghas is sometimes called "suicide apple".

Cerbera manghas is naturally distributed from the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean eastward to French Polynesia. It occupies lowland and coastal habitats and is often associated with mangrove forests. This tree has been introduced to Hawaii and other tropical locations as an ornamental.

Because of its deadly poisonous seeds, the genus name is derived from Cerberus, the "hell dog" of Greek mythology, hence indicating the toxicity of the seeds.
(Tomlison, P.B. 1995. The Botany of Mangroves)

We currently have 43 herbarium specimens for Cerbera manghas in our collection. Click on any specimen below to view the herbarium sheet data.

• 054940 - collected by Michael J. Balick in Unknown
• 023898 - collected by D. Anderson in 1949
• 026468 - collected by Michael Evans in 1965
• 026471 - collected by F. R. Fosberg in 1968
• 083748 - collected by Art Whistler in 1970
• 031044 - collected by Keith Woolliams in 1973
• 083760 - collected by Art Whistler in 1973
• 083758 - collected by Art Whistler in 1974
• 083741 - collected by Art Whistler in 1975
• 083740 - collected by Art Whistler in 1976
• 083757 - collected by Art Whistler in 1976
• 083756 - collected by Art Whistler in 1980
• 035804 - collected by D. Mueller-Dombois in 1981
• 001502 - collected by Tim Flynn in 1983
• 001500 - collected by Tim Flynn in 1983
• 031045 - collected by Gordon McPherson in 1983
• 095689 - collected by Robin B. Huck in 1984
• 001501 - collected by Joel Lau in 1985
• 001499 - collected by Tim Flynn in 1986
• 001497 - collected by Tim Flynn in 1986
• 006566 - collected by Steve Perlman in 1988
• 003324 - collected by Art Whistler in 1989
• 083750 - collected by Art Whistler in 1991
• 011052 - collected by Art Whistler in 1991
• 083749 - collected by Art Whistler in 1991
• 083745 - collected by Art Whistler in 1992
• 083761 - collected by Art Whistler in 1992
• 083747 - collected by Art Whistler in 1993
• 021203 - collected by Steve Perlman in 1995
• 022340 - collected by Steve Perlman in 1995
• 083759 - collected by Art Whistler in 1997
• 083746 - collected by Art Whistler in 1997
• 026598 - collected by Tim Flynn in 1998
• 039743 - collected by Steve Perlman in 2003
• 039740 - collected by Steve Perlman in 2003
• 041039 - collected by Liloa Dunn in 2003
• 096194 - collected by J. A. Sanney in 2008
• 057956 - collected by Steve Perlman in 2009
• 052066 - collected by David H. Lorence in 2010
• 065814 - collected by Tim Flynn in 2012
• 065235 - collected by Tim Flynn in 2012
• 092122 - collected by Gregory M. Plunkett in 2016
• 084754 - collected by Natalia Tangalin in 2021