Basement Dwellers

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All parts of the tree contain strong toxins, some unidentified.[5] Its milky white sap contains phorbol and other skin irritants, producing strong allergic contact dermatitis.[6]

Standing beneath the tree during rain will cause blistering of the skin from mere contact with this liquid: even a small drop of rain with the milky substance in it will cause the skin to blister. The sap has also been known to damage the paint on cars.[7] Burning the tree may cause ocular injuries if the smoke reaches the eyes.[8] Contact with its milky sap (latex) produces bullous dermatitis, acute keratoconjunctivitis and possibly large corneal epithelial defects.[9]

Although the fruit is potentially fatal if eaten, no such occurrences have been reported in the modern literature.[10] Ingestion can produce severe gastroenteritis with bleeding, shock, and bacterial superinfection, as well as the potential for airway compromise due to edema.[11]

When ingested, the fruit is reportedly "pleasantly sweet" at first, with a subsequent "strange peppery feeling ... gradually progress[ing] to a burning, tearing sensation and tightness of the throat." Symptoms continue to worsen until the patient can "barely swallow solid food because of the excruciating pain and the feeling of a huge obstructing pharyngeal lump."[2]
 
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