What Is Rubber Tree Sap Used For

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 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.

What is rubber tree sap used for. Rubber tree hevea brasiliensis south american tropical tree of the spurge family euphorbiaceae. And a large area of bark. Traditionally it s used raw as a hot beverage rather than boiled down into syrup. Or wound in a tree and the pressure will push the sap out where it can be collected.

When a rubber tree reaches maturity at 6 to 7 years of age it will produce latex for around 30 years. It takes a year for a rubber tree to create 11 pounds of the white sap which equals. Rubber trees were first discovered by the olmec maya and aztec people. Within the rubber tree latex is found.

It apparently also works well for healing eczema. In the wild the rubber tree will grow to heights of 100 to 130 feet and can live up to 100 years. Distinct from the sap latex serves as a protective agent seeping out of and sealing over wounds in the tree s bark. In 2014 the sap is used to process rubber for a variety of uses.

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 it has soft wood. A rubber tree also referred to as rubberwood can be tapped for latex once it reaches approximately six years of age. The first use of rubber was by the indigenous cultures of mesoamerica the earliest archeological evidence of the use of natural latex from the hevea tree comes from the olmec culture in which rubber was first used for making balls for the mesoamerican ballgame rubber was later used by the maya and aztec cultures in addition to making balls aztecs used rubber for other purposes such as. They used the sap to make rubber balls to waterproof their clothing and to make their own shoes and shoe soles.

In this same way pine resin can also be used to heal our wounds. Much is not commercially viable due to the lower yields but they are still commonly used for domestic purposes. Well technically the compounds that produce such products as latex and natural rubber are not really tree sap as xylem sap is mostly water with necessary hormones minerals and nutrients to feed the tree. To make pine pitch salve you first need to collect some sap from pine trees.

The rubber tree can only thrive in hot damp regions near the equator so 90 of true rubber production today occurs in these areas. In addition to being antiseptic pine sap is also anti inflammatory and its stickiness helps it close wounds. The resin exuded from trees to make latex is a defense. As well as maples there are a few other trees that produce edible sap.