Ignoring the stupidity and inhumanity of border walls, seems like we could be planting them alongside them and add some green. Let border patrol agents have to prune and manage them.

Fuck, throw out all the man made parts of the border wall and just have a thicket of these trees. if you're willing to pass through the forest suited up then you've put more effort into being a citizen than most citizens.

[–] frongt@lemmy.zip 3 points 4 months ago (3 children)

Well, it's the sap that's harmful. I don't think touching the bark a little will hurt. You should be able to pass through a stand of trees without issue.

You could also plant poison ivy on the ground, but even just pants and shoes would be enough to walk through. You could plant thorny bushes, but anyone with clippers could easily make a hole that would go unnoticed for a while. The border is long. (And I doubt most of these plants would thrive there anyway.)

[–] kapulsa@feddit.org 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

There’s no safe way to approach a manchineel tree, as every part of it is toxic. One touch is enough to cause severe skin irritations and eye injuries that can leave you temporarily blind. Simply standing under a manchineel tree while its raining can even cause pain. It’s also a bad idea to burn its lumber, as the smoke is harmful as well.

From the article.

[–] frongt@lemmy.zip 3 points 4 months ago

Yes, I read the article. But mentalfloss is not a reliable source.

https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/FR370

This is indeed the tree I was thinking of, and yes it's the sap that's toxic. Dry bark should be safe to touch, but it does weep sap through its bark. The interior wood, leaves, and fruit all contain the sap, so you should absolutely not interact with those without protection.

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