diff --git a/src/core/ReactComponentBrowserEnvironment.js b/src/core/ReactComponentBrowserEnvironment.js
index 26a3e27739..5c60bcb8af 100644
--- a/src/core/ReactComponentBrowserEnvironment.js
+++ b/src/core/ReactComponentBrowserEnvironment.js
@@ -29,6 +29,9 @@ var getReactRootElementInContainer = require('getReactRootElementInContainer');
 var invariant = require('invariant');
 
 
+var ELEMENT_NODE_TYPE = 1;
+var DOC_NODE_TYPE = 9;
+
 
 /**
  * Abstracts away all functionality of `ReactComponent` requires knowledge of
@@ -78,8 +81,11 @@ var ReactComponentBrowserEnvironment = {
    */
   mountImageIntoNode: function(markup, container, shouldReuseMarkup) {
     invariant(
-      container && container.nodeType === 1,
-      'mountComponentIntoNode(...): Target container is not a DOM element.'
+      container && (
+        container.nodeType === ELEMENT_NODE_TYPE ||
+        container.nodeType === DOC_NODE_TYPE && ReactMount.allowFullPageRender
+      ),
+      'mountComponentIntoNode(...): Target container is not valid.'
     );
     if (shouldReuseMarkup) {
       if (ReactMarkupChecksum.canReuseMarkup(
diff --git a/src/core/ReactMount.js b/src/core/ReactMount.js
index dc1fd92aa1..9bb4c4efd5 100644
--- a/src/core/ReactMount.js
+++ b/src/core/ReactMount.js
@@ -197,6 +197,10 @@ function purgeID(id) {
  * Inside of `container`, the first element rendered is the "reactRoot".
  */
 var ReactMount = {
+  /**
+   * Safety guard to prevent accidentally rendering over the entire HTML tree.
+   */
+  allowFullPageRender: false,
 
   /** Time spent generating markup. */
   totalInstantiationTime: 0,
diff --git a/src/core/__tests__/ReactComponent-test.js b/src/core/__tests__/ReactComponent-test.js
index af242c350d..0a78d56915 100644
--- a/src/core/__tests__/ReactComponent-test.js
+++ b/src/core/__tests__/ReactComponent-test.js
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 "use strict";
 
 var React;
+var ReactMount;
 var ReactTestUtils;
 
 var reactComponentExpect;
@@ -27,10 +28,25 @@ var reactComponentExpect;
 describe('ReactComponent', function() {
   beforeEach(function() {
     React = require('React');
+    ReactMount = require('ReactMount');
     ReactTestUtils = require('ReactTestUtils');
     reactComponentExpect = require('reactComponentExpect');
   });
 
+  it('should not throw on full document rendering', function() {
+    var container = {nodeType: 9};
+    expect(function() {
+      React.renderComponent(<div></div>, container);
+    }).toThrow(
+      'Invariant Violation: mountComponentIntoNode(...): Target container is ' +
+      'not valid.'
+    );
+    ReactMount.allowFullPageRender = true;
+    expect(function() {
+      React.renderComponent(<div></div>, container);
+    }).not.toThrow();
+  });
+
   it('should throw on invalid render targets', function() {
     var container = document.createElement('div');
     // jQuery objects are basically arrays; people often pass them in by mistake
@@ -38,14 +54,14 @@ describe('ReactComponent', function() {
       React.renderComponent(<div></div>, [container]);
     }).toThrow(
       'Invariant Violation: mountComponentIntoNode(...): Target container is ' +
-      'not a DOM element.'
+      'not valid.'
     );
 
     expect(function() {
       React.renderComponent(<div></div>, null);
     }).toThrow(
       'Invariant Violation: mountComponentIntoNode(...): Target container is ' +
-      'not a DOM element.'
+      'not valid.'
     );
   });
 
diff --git a/src/environment/ExecutionEnvironment.js b/src/vendor/core/ExecutionEnvironment.js
similarity index 100%
rename from src/environment/ExecutionEnvironment.js
rename to src/vendor/core/ExecutionEnvironment.js
diff --git a/src/vendor/core/createNodesFromMarkup.js b/src/vendor/core/createNodesFromMarkup.js
index 6ef538fa40..57b93e6cba 100644
--- a/src/vendor/core/createNodesFromMarkup.js
+++ b/src/vendor/core/createNodesFromMarkup.js
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@
 
 /*jslint evil: true, sub: true */
 
+var ExecutionEnvironment = require('ExecutionEnvironment');
+
 var createArrayFrom = require('createArrayFrom');
 var getMarkupWrap = require('getMarkupWrap');
 var invariant = require('invariant');
@@ -26,7 +28,8 @@ var invariant = require('invariant');
 /**
  * Dummy container used to render all markup.
  */
-var dummyNode = document.createElement('div');
+var dummyNode =
+  ExecutionEnvironment.canUseDOM ? document.createElement('div') : null;
 
 /**
  * Pattern used by `getNodeName`.
@@ -56,6 +59,7 @@ function getNodeName(markup) {
  */
 function createNodesFromMarkup(markup, handleScript) {
   var node = dummyNode;
+  invariant(!!dummyNode, 'createNodesFromMarkup dummy not initialized');
   var nodeName = getNodeName(markup);
 
   var wrap = nodeName && getMarkupWrap(nodeName);
diff --git a/src/vendor/core/getMarkupWrap.js b/src/vendor/core/getMarkupWrap.js
index c35a9d0158..91dac43e19 100644
--- a/src/vendor/core/getMarkupWrap.js
+++ b/src/vendor/core/getMarkupWrap.js
@@ -16,10 +16,15 @@
  * @providesModule getMarkupWrap
  */
 
+var ExecutionEnvironment = require('ExecutionEnvironment');
+
+var invariant = require('invariant');
+
 /**
  * Dummy container used to detect which wraps are necessary.
  */
-var dummyNode = document.createElement('div');
+var dummyNode =
+  ExecutionEnvironment.canUseDOM ? document.createElement('div') : null;
 
 /**
  * Some browsers cannot use `innerHTML` to render certain elements standalone,
@@ -55,6 +60,7 @@ var markupWrap = {
  * @return {?array} Markup wrap configuration, if applicable.
  */
 function getMarkupWrap(nodeName) {
+  invariant(!!dummyNode, 'Markup wrapping node not initialized');
   if (!markupWrap.hasOwnProperty(nodeName)) {
     nodeName = '*';
   }