Dear readers, it is always a pleasure to share with you again my findings in that wonderful gift from God called nature. It turns out, that today I want to share with you images and a little information about a little plant that is as beautiful as it is dangerous, it is a plant commonly known by the name of Acotope. It is a shrub belonging to the Apocynaceae family and in botanical terms it is identified as Trevetia ahouai.

Acotope is not the only popular name by which this plant, native to the tropical habitats of Latin America, is known. In addition, it is identified by several very peculiar names, which are derived from the curious shape of its reddish fruits. Some of these names are: huevos de toro, huevos de tigre, huevos de gato, huevos de perro, huevos de obispo, cojón de fraile, cojón de venado, bola de venado, bola de gato, palo de tira hule, cafecillo, campanilla, catape rojo and in Mayan language Akits.

Regarding the general appearance of this species belonging to the genus Thevetia, within the field of botany, is what is known as a shrub or small tree. This, because its height ranges between 1 meter and 7 or 8 meters at most. On the other hand, its evergreen foliage is not very leafy and covers a diameter of approximately 10 meters at most. Its thin stems have a smooth texture and do not present an abundant branching, something to highlight is that its branches are rich in latex. It is enough to break a branch to see this kind of whitish liquid sprout, which, by the way, like all parts of this tree, is toxic if ingested. However, in some places, it is used as an anti-fungicide and anti-inflammatory by applying it externally to the area to be treated.

As I already mentioned the foliage of this beautiful tree is evergreen, its leaves are arranged alternately, in groups at the end of the branches and have oblanceolate shape. That is to say, its intense green leaves are lance-shaped, with the peculiarity that they are wider at the apex. In terms of size, they range from 14 to 25 cm long and 5 to 7 cm wide.

Now, let's talk a little about its flowers and fruits, both caught my attention, let's start with its showy and fragrant flowers, these reach a maximum length of about 4 cm. They are of a beautiful and vibrant intense yellow color and have the shape of small trumpets.

The fruits are small berries that measure approximately 3.5 cm long and 5 cm wide. In its exterior, it has a smooth and very shiny texture, initially they are of a very intense green tone and when ripe they are stained with a beautiful and bright red tone, which makes them look like small apples. Inside, the fruit has a white pulp and spongy consistency, and in the center is a white seed and ovoid in shape.

Finally, I must emphasize that, although the fruit of the Acotope tree, in appearance resembles tiny succulent apples, it should be noted that they are not, like the apple in the story of Snow White and the 7 dwarfs, these small berries are toxic and therefore potentially deadly.

Well, dear readers and nature lovers, it only remains for me to say goodbye, hoping that the images and information I share with you about this beautiful plant have been to your liking. Very specially, I hope @bucipuci, @adalger and all the team of @dna and @amazingnature like it, since, it is my entry for this week's contest, in which, if you want to participate, you can access by clicking on the following link Amazing Nature Contest: FREE TOPIC - #1/4/23. Best wishes for well being and health to all, God Bless. See you next time.

Content and photographs of my intellectual property

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