We have seen various plants, which has a long history. Many trees have their own history. We also know about few trees or plants that are useful in medicine and other things. There are some species too which live for long years and thus have many diaadvantages despite their long lives. But have you ever heard about the tree that is dangerous like dynamite? Yes, there is a tree named sandbox tree which is also called as the dynamite tree.
It is a large tree in the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae), native through most of tropical America. The sandbox tree is among the largest trees of tropical America and interesting for its pumpkin-shaped seed capsules that explode with a loud sound, scattering the seeds. It is also present in parts of Tanzania, where it is considered an invasive species.
The sandbox tree, also known as the monkey no-climb or dynamite tree, lives up to all of its nicknames. It is often cultivated for shade.
Sandbox trees sometimes grown as boulevard trees but have disadvantages in their poisonous leaves, bark, and seeds and the explosions of their capsules, which have force enough to injure persons or livestock.
The sandbox tree is nearly 30 metres (100 feet) tall with a girth of more than 1 metre (3.3 feet). The trunk is studded with short conical prickles. The long-stalked dark-green leaves cover a round-crowned high-branching tree. They are monoecious, with red, un-petaled flowers. Male flowers grow on long spikes, while female flowers grow alone in leaf axils.
The globose seed capsules, grooved into 15 sections, are 7.6 cm in diameter and were used in colonial British West Indies as sandboxes for blotting ink. Some indigenous groups mix the poisonous latex with sand to stupefy fish. Indigenous people would dip their darts into this sap for hunting and warfare.
It is said that certain parts of the plant can allegedly be used to treat stomach issues, eczema, rheumatoid arthritis and intestinal worms.
This tree prefers wet soil, and partial shade or partial to full sun. It is often cultivated for shade. Sandbox trees are tropical trees and prefer warmer, more humid environments.
Fishermen have been said to use the milky, caustic sap from this tree to poison fish. The Caribs made arrow poison 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.