I slept beneath the Boracero tree.

Its bell-shaped flowers gave me visions.

Suddenly I found myself lost in eastern Colombia.

A huge, colorful snake came and ate me.

When I woke, I had merged with the reptile, half man, half snake,

a strange creature slithering through the forest.

You're listening. You're listening to be amazed.

This story from Colombian street artist Malagria was about sleeping under a boar chair or tree,

but artists aren't the only people who avoid sleeping beneath its leaves.

All Colombians know you don't sleep beneath the Boracero tree, because after all, you might never wake up.

Sounds strange, keep listening, and you'll realize just why this mysterious tree is so dangerous.

The Borchero tree comes from the northern region of South America.

Other names for it are Datora or Pluripandio.

Roughly translated, its name means drunken binge.

It's related to the deadly nightshade, a famously beautiful plant with

dently berries. The Boracero tree doesn't have berries, but it does have lovely white and yellow

flowers that look soft, almost like wet paper or ballerinas hanging from the tree, and they

smell wonderful. It is very beautiful, but also very

dangerous. That's why many people consider it a symbol of Columbia. The charming cocoa seeds of the

tree have a dark potential. Over the years, people have used the Boracero tree to make a dangerous

drug called scopolamine. The seeds of pods from the tree

make the drug. People extract the seeds and grind them down. Then they add bleach and other chemical

...