ordeal tree

Noun

 * 1) A term used variously to describe trees whose products have been used in ordeal tests.
 * 2) A poisonous tree of Madagascar ( (syn. ). Those suspected of crime were forced to eat the seeds of the plumlike fruit, and criminals were put to death by being pricked with a lance dipped in the juice of the seeds.
 * 3) A similar tree ( spp.) put to similar use in Liberia; sassywood.
 * 4) A deciduous tree of the African savanna, 1.8-15 m tall, with a rounded crown and pendulous branchlets.