What Is A Rubber Tree Called
When learning how to care for a rubber tree plant there are a few key things to remember but rubber plant care isn t as difficult as one might think.
What is a rubber tree called. Formed in a living organism natural rubber consists of solids suspended in a milky fluid called latex that circulates in the inner portions of the bark of many tropical and subtropical trees and shrubs but predominantly hevea brasiliensis a tall softwood tree originating in brazil. Natural rubber is made from the milky sap of a plant. It is the most economically important member of the genus hevea because the milky latex extracted from the tree is the primary source of natural rubber. A rubber tree plant is also known as a ficus elastica.
These large trees can grow up to 50 feet 15 m tall. Cultivated on plantations in the tropics and subtropics especially in southeast asia and western africa it replaced the rubber plant in the early 20th century as the chief source of natural rubber. Ficus elastica more commonly known as a rubber plant rubber tree or rubber tree plant is a popular houseplant because of its waxy leaves and larger than life appearance. Rubber tree plantation in thailand natural rubber also called india rubber latex amazonian rubber caucho or caoutchouc as initially produced consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene with minor impurities of other organic compounds plus water.
What is natural rubber. As a domesticated houseplant rubber plants grow anywhere between six to ten feet tall. Thailand and indonesia are two of the leading rubber producers. Hevea brasiliensis the pará rubber tree sharinga tree seringueira or most commonly the rubber tree or rubber plant is a flowering plant belonging to the spurge family euphorbiaceae.
One kind the india rubber plant is a common houseplant. Nowadays 99 of the natural rubber we use is extracted from a tree called hevea brasiliensis. Rubber plants can grow up to 100 feet in their native homeland of southeast asia. In this article we give some details about the best alternative rubber sources currently available.
There are several kinds of plants that can produce rubber. Natural rubber is produced from plants and is classified as a polymer. Most of the world s natural rubber however comes from the rubber tree with the scientific name hevea brasiliensis.