Talk:Cerbera odollam

Toxicity section

Toxicity - I am adding a heading entitled "Toxicity" to this article to divide information included in "Uses" for clarity. I hope this helps! [unsigned]

Uses

Regarding the claim that the seeds can be used as an Insecticide or a deodorant. I'd love to know where this came from. The insecticide appears obvious, but may be a bit far fetched due to the differences in Insect and Mammalian biology. As for deodorants, again I find this hard to believe unless it is a miswording and the plant is used for the treatment of Hyperhydrosis / excessive sweating in the same way that Botox is [1] describes an investigation of a crude extract's ability as an antimicrobial, but the results IMHO were not impressive in regards to use level compared to more regular materials such as Triclosan or Farnesol. Valueaddedwater (talk) 14:33, 8 December 2011 (UTC)

Long unsourced paragraph moved here for review, sourcing or disposal.

The following paragraph, with its significant but unsourced factual claims, has been un-verifiable since 2010, and is moved here so it can be made encyclopedic, revised based on actual sources, or dispensed with:

"The seeds also have a long history as a poison in Madagascar, where it has been responsible for the death of 2% of the population (3000 people per year, 50,000 per generation) of a central province of Madagascar. The belief in the genuineness and accuracy of trial by ordeal using this poison was so strongly held among all, that innocent people suspected of an offense did not hesitate to subject themselves to it; some even showed eagerness to subject themselves to the test, in one case with more than 6000 dying in a single ordeal. The use of ritual poison in Madagascar was abolished in 1861 by King Radama II; however, it is believed that this practice may still occur in remote areas of the island.

Please do not return it to the article without clarifying the vagaries, substantiating the factual statements, and providing the sources. Le Prof 71.201.62.200 (talk) 18:19, 18 June 2015 (UTC)

Note, much of this material appears to have been cribbed from the article on Tangena, which references the plant Tanghinia venenifera, which redirects here. The synonymy of these two species needs to be established and sourced, and if it can be, then the references appearing at the Tangena article could be used to substantiate a shortened paragraph (cross-referencing the full article), here. Le Prof 71.201.62.200 (talk) 19:12, 18 June 2015 (UTC)

Othalanga is the seed, Othalam is the tree

The opening sentence of this entry is this: Cerbera odollam is a dicotyledonous angiosperm, a plant species in the Family Apocynaceae and commonly known as the suicide tree, pong-pong, and othalanga. Under the subtitle, 'common names', it is written thus: Cerbera odollam is known by a number of vernacular names, depending on the region. These include othalanga maram in the Malayalam language used in Kerala, India; (continued...)

Both of these sentences use the name of the seed for the tree. The expression kaya (കായ) means seed/fruit in Malayalam. So Thenga (cocunut) means the seed/fruit of Thengu, Manga (Mango) means the seed/fruit of Mavu, etc. Thus Othalanga means the seed of Othalam. The tree is Othalam and the seed/fruit is Othalanga. We don't say Manga maram or Thenga maram (maram is tree). Likewise, we don't say Othalanga Maram. It is Othalam. absolute_void(); 05:44, 6 April 2018 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sebinaj (talk • contribs)

The picture on the 'Toxicity' tab is causing the bullet point to be misaligned

The picture on the 'Toxicity' tab is causing the bullet point to be misaligned. Xboxsponge15 (talk) 19:44, 14 March 2023 (UTC)