In Con Dao, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, it can be emotional when exploring the historic islands. One of the most important features of Con Dao is that the land is full of ancient sea poison trees.

The sea poison trees were around during the revolutionary years in Vietnam’s tragic history when prisoners on the island overcame their horrible conditions at Con Dao prison. Arrested, tortured, and starved to death, the soldiers had to eat young sea poison leaves from the trees. There are still a lot of ancient sea poison trees in this “hell on earth” in Vietnam.

Despite suffering from the harsh winds and big storms for years, the sea poison trees in Con Dao are well-developed with deeper roots, rougher bark and are stronger than the ones grown on the mainland.

Apart from providing shade, the sea poison trees also bring great economic value to the locals. With abundant seeds, people have taken advantage of the trees to create specialties for their communities. After being harvested, the poison tree seeds must be dried in the sun for a long time and then processed to make jam. Previously, the jam had only two flavors: salty and sweet. In order to meet the demand, sea poison tree jam has recently been processed with a variety of flavors.

The sea poison tree seeds have now become a specialty sought by tourists whenever they visit Con Dao

By VNP