Hippomane is a genus of plants in the Euphorbiaceae described by Linnaeus in 1753.[2][4] It is native to the West Indies, Central America, Mexico, Florida, Venezuela, Colombia, and Galápagos.[3][5][6][7][8][9]
The name of the genus references the Greek name hippomanes (applied by Theophrastus to an unidentified plant said to poison horses, sending them mad) - this being a compound of the Greek elements ἵππος (= (h)ippos) horse and μανία (= mania) insanity / frenzy - hence "sending horses insane".[10]