“Untreated, the progression is grim: nausea and vomiting give way to cardiac arrest. Death can come within an hour.”

Cerbera odollam is native to parts of South and Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands and Queensland, Australia.

Historically, it was used in witch trials in 19th century Madagascar – suspects were administered with a dose of the tree’s poison (or its close relative Cerbera manghas) and whether they lived or died determined their innocence.

• Hubble, bubble, toil and trouble: the real story of Britain's witch trials
• The dark history of witches and the infamous witch trials: How thousands were executed in Europe's bloody pursuit of sorcery

It’s estimated that it caused 3,000 deaths per year in previous centuries.  

• "It drops large cones that weigh 40 pounds apiece – more than heavy enough to kill a passer-by..." The most dangerous trees on the planet
• Scientists are desperately trying to resurrect Australia’s ‘zombie tree’

Today, it continues to be used for suicide and homicide. In 2004, a study found that Cerbera odollam was responsible for about 50 per cent of plant poisoning cases and 10 per cent of all poisoning cases in Kerala, India. 

Each fruit contains one or two large seeds packed with concentrated toxins. The most potent of these, cerberin, works by disrupting the molecular pumps that regulate the heart's rhythm. Left untreated, the progression is grim: nausea and vomiting give way to cardiac arrest.

• 10 horrifying, deadly toxins with the power to harm – AND the capacity to heal and save lives

“Assuming that the person doesn’t receive any treatment at all, death can come within an hour,” explained forensic science professor Hillary Hamnett in an interview for National Geographic. 

A 2016 study of 50 poisoning cases found that nearly a third of patients showed no symptoms at the time of hospital admission and admitted simply because they had consumed the seed. Of those who were treated, 88 per cent survived – a reminder that, in the race against cerberin, medical intervention can make the difference between life and death.

• A tree that can walk? How one 'walking tree' is said to be able to move itself to a sunnier spot
• Mystery of the weird and wonderful 'upside-down tree' finally solved

Top image: suicide tree or pong-pong (Cerbera odollam) tree in Thailand, Southeast Asia. Credit: Svetlana Sarapultseva/Getty Images