Dangerous Trees That Should Never Be Touched

Common And Rare

These dangerous trees can be found on exotic shores or right in your backyard.

Some of them ooze dangerous sap, while others can drop seeds that could land people in the hospital. There are also plant look-alikes that can trick people into touching or eating them!

The Holly Tree

This one is as common as any tree walking down a busy city street.

People use it as Christmas decorations, but the berries of the holly plant are toxic—not only to dogs, but also to other animals and children.

These berries remain attached to the plant while it’s still fresh, but as the plant dries, the berries loosen and may fall off of your décor and onto the floor.

The Sandbox Tree

Considered one of the most dangerous plants in the world, the sandbox tree isn’t suitable for home landscapes, or any landscape actually.

The sap is poisonous and can cause nasty rashes. Bizarrely, when the fruit of the sandbox matures, it explodes, sending seeds in all directions at upwards of 160 miles per hour! This has led some folks to refer to it as the dynamite tree.

More About It

You can easily recognize the tree by its grey bark covered with cone-shaped spikes. The tree has distinctly different male and female flowers.

It only grows in frost-free areas and needs a moist sandy loam soil.  It does well in zones 10 and 11.

  Long ago, colonists in the British West Indies would use the empty seed capsules as sandboxes for blotting ink

It’s Invasive

This dangerous tree is an evergreen, part of the spurge family.  There are two species; Hura crepitans and H. polyandra.  

They are native primarily to the tropical parts of South America, Mexico and the Amazonian rain forest; occasionally found in tropical parts of North America. In addition, the sandbox tree was introduced into Tanzania in Eastern Africa, where it is now considered an invasive species.