In 1999, radiologist Nicola Strickland went on a holiday to the Caribbean island of Tobago, a tropical paradise complete with idyllic, deserted beaches.
1999年，放射学家尼古拉·斯特里克兰(Nicola Strickland)去加勒比海的多巴哥岛度假，这是一个充满田园诗般的荒凉海滩的热带天堂。
On her first morning there, she went foraging for shells and corals in the white sand, but the holiday quickly took a turn for the worse.
在她到那里的第一个早晨，她去白沙中寻找贝壳和珊瑚，但假期很快就变得更糟了。
Scattered amongst the coconuts and mangoes on the beach, Strickland and her friend found some sweet-smelling green fruit that looked much like small crabapples.
散落在海滩上的椰子和芒果中间，斯特里克兰和她的朋友找到了一些闻起来很香的绿色水果，看起来很像小海棠。
Both foolishly decided to take a bite.
两个人都愚蠢地决定咬一口。
Within moments the pleasantly sweet flavour was overwhelmed by a peppery, burning feeling and an excruciating tightness in the throat that gradually got so bad, the women could barely swallow.
片刻之后，甜美的味道被一种辣味，灼热的感觉和喉咙里令人难以忍受的紧绷所淹没，渐渐变得如此糟糕，女人们几乎无法下咽了。
The fruit in question belonged to the manchineel tree (Hippomane mancinella), sometimes referred to as 'beach apple' or 'poison guava'. It's native to the tropical parts of southern North America, as well as Central America, the Caribbean, and parts of northern South America.
所讨论的水果属于桃金娘树(Hippomane Mancinella)，有时被称为“海滩苹果”或“毒番石榴”。它原产于北美南部的热带地区，以及中美洲、加勒比海和南美洲北部的部分地区。
The plant bears another name in Spanish, arbol de la muerte, which literally means "tree of death".
这种植物在西班牙语中有另一个名字，arbol de la muerte，字面意思是“死亡之树”。
According to the Guinness World Records, the manchineel tree is in fact the most dangerous tree in the world.
根据吉尼斯世界纪录，桃仁树实际上是世界上最危险的树。
As explained by the Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, all parts of manchineel are extremely poisonous, and "interaction with and ingestion of any part of this tree may be lethal".
正如佛罗里达食品和农业科学研究所解释的那样，芒果的所有部分都是剧毒的，“与这种树的任何部分的相互作用和摄取都可能是致命的”。
Manchineel belongs to the large and diverse Euphorbia genus, which also contains the decorative Christmas poinsettia.
曼彻内尔属于大而多样的大戟属，其中也含有装饰性圣诞一品红。
The tree produces a thick, milky sap, which oozes out of everything - the bark, the leaves and even the fruit - and can cause severe, burn-like blisters if it comes into contact with skin.
这种树会产生一种厚厚的乳状汁液，渗出所有的东西-树皮，叶子，甚至水果-如果接触到皮肤，可能会产生严重的烧伤样水泡。
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