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Description: This small to medium-sized tree grows to heights of about 12 m (~38 ft) or more with thick, succulent stems, producing a milky sap. It has simple, spirally arranged, elliptic to oblanceolate leaves, 2-20 cm (1-8 in) long, with smooth, glossy surfaces which grow crowded at the branch tips. The flowers are also borne at the tip of branches in clusters of more than ten are white with five-petals and reddish centers. The lustrous colored fruits are red to brownish or even blackish, oval-shaped drupes, 5-10 cm (2-4 in) long with the outer part fleshy and the middle and inner parts fibrous.
Distribution: Cerbera manghas is a member of the Periwinkle Family (Apocynaceae) that is indigenous to a wide area from the Indian Ocean to eastern Polynesia, including some of the islands of Micronesia. It is found in coastal forests, especially “swamp forests,” best developed in Palau and Kosrae according to Falanruw et al. (1987:240), as well as in disturbed areas near the shore. Regarding its widespread distribution in the tropical Western Pacific region, Tuyama (1941) noted the because of the quantity of fibers in the outer skin of its fruit, C. manghas “is distributed in a great area by the ocean currents, the fibers preventing the entrance of water.”
Uses by Island or Island Group: As a woody species, C. manghas is sometimes planted as an ornamental and its toxic fruits and seeds have been used as a fish poison in some Pacific Islands; for example, Schmidt (2017) referred to the presence of cardiac glycoside cerberin contined in the seeds of C. manghas, and that these “are used to stun fish as well as to treat cancer.” In addition, its wood has been used for general construction and handicraft productions, its flowers are sometimes used in garlands and for decoration (Thaman et al.1992:47), and on some islands it is used medicinally.
Uses in Palau: Although the fruit and latex of C. manghas can be poisonous (e.g., see Defillips et al. 1988), it has medicinal and other uses in Palau:
“The plant sap is used immediately for minor cuts. The tree can be easily planted by cuttings as an ornamental and makes an excellent species for beautification. The fruits are one of the favorite foods of the Marianas fruit bat. The wood is soft and not very useful” (Kitalong et al. 2008:59, also see Salsedo and Smith 1987).
In addition, Tuyama (1941) also referred to the “milkish-white juices from the bark” of C. manghas being poisonous, and also noted that “oil” extracted from the seeds of this species “may be burned for light.”
Uses in Yap: According to Kawagoe (1917:70-71), although the fruits and seed of C. manghas has the potential of being strongly toxic if consumed:
“Oil can be extracted from the seed, and if a little of it is used it works as an evacuant, but is used more than necessary it works as a narcotic. On Yap the natives use the juice on burns and believe it to be efficacious.”
Falanruw (2015:38) refers to C. manghas as being much “like a wild plumeria tree,” with a Yapese name, Riya, which “literally means “danger.” However, Falanruw noted that the sap of C. manghas is “used medicinally.”
Uses in Chuuk: The flowers and fruit of this plant are strung into flower leis in Chuuk. Its milky sap can be poisonous, but it may be useful in small doses, possibly for medicine and even for ritual purposes? Goodenough and Sugita (1980), the authors of a Trukese-English Dicitonary refer to Sééwúriinen as the “name of plumeria or frangipani attributed to spirits and used by spirit mediums when possessed by a spirit (‘plumeria of heaven’).” Elbert (1947) identified this “plumeria” as the “Cerbera tree.”
Uses in the Marshall Islands: Okabe (1941d:12) listed Cerbera manghas as being source of timber, oil form its seed and as an ornamental plant on Jaluit Atoll in the Marshall Islands.