Hevea brasiliensis
Primary source of natural rubber, originally from the Amazon.
Hevea brasiliensis goes by many names: the Pará rubber tree, sharinga tree, seringueira, or simply the rubber tree or rubber plant. It is a flowering species in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. Originally found only in the Amazon basin, it has since been introduced across the tropics worldwide. Its economic importance comes from the milky latex in its bark, which remains the main source of natural rubber. In the wild, this tree is a tall deciduous species that can reach up to 43 meters (141 feet). Cultivated trees are usually much shorter because tapping for latex slows their growth. The trunk is cylindrical and sometimes has a swollen, bottle-shaped base. The bark is brown, and when damaged, the inner bark oozes latex. Leaves are arranged in spirals and have three leaflets. The tree produces separate male and female flowers in the same inflorescence; these flowers are creamy-yellow, have no petals, and give off a strong smell. The fruit is a capsule containing three large seeds, and it bursts open explosively when ripe. Latex flows in vessels within the bark, mostly outside the phloem. These vessels spiral up the trunk in a helix and can extend as high as 15 meters (49 feet). On plantations, trees are smaller not only because tapping slows growth but also because they are typically cut down after 30 years, when latex production drops and they become uneconomical. The tree needs a tropical or subtropical climate with at least 1,200 mm (50 inches) of rainfall per year and no frost. A single frost can ruin an entire plantation's production, making the refined rubber brittle and prone to breaking. The first harvest comes after seven to ten years. Harvesters make shallow incisions across the latex vessels—deep enough to tap the latex but not harm the tree—and collect the dripping latex in small buckets. This is called rubber tapping. Latex yield varies greatly between individual trees and across different clones. As latex production falls with age, rubber trees are usually felled between 25 and 30 years old. In the past, the trees were burned, but in recent decades the wood has been harvested for furniture. The South American rubber tree originally grew only in the Amazon rainforest.
Quick Facts
- Genus
- Hevea
- Species
- brasiliensis
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Hevea brasiliensis is a tall deciduous tree reaching up to 43 meters in the wild, though cultivated trees are smaller because latex tapping restricts growth. The trunk is cylindrical, sometimes with a swollen base; the bark oozes latex when damaged. Leaves have three leaflets arranged spirally, and the flowers are pungent, creamy-yellow, and lack petals. The fruit is a capsule containing three large seeds that opens explosively when ripe.
In plantations, trees are tapped for latex after seven to ten years. Harvesters make incisions across latex vessels in the bark, collecting the latex in small buckets. Latex production declines with age, and trees are typically felled at 25 to 30 years; their wood is now harvested for furniture making. The tree requires a tropical or subtropical climate with at least 1,200 mm of rainfall per year and no frost.
Reader's Guide
Hevea brasiliensis is the world's primary source of natural rubber, a material essential for countless products from tires to medical gloves. Its domestication and spread from the Amazon to plantations across Southeast Asia transformed global industry and trade. The rubber boom of the 19th century enriched Amazonian cities but also led to the tree's introduction to Asia, where it thrived away from its native pests. Today, most rubber plantations are in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, and Vietnam. However, the tree remains vulnerable to South American leaf blight, and most Southeast Asian clones are highly susceptible to this disease. Environmental historian Charles C. Mann predicted that these plantations could be ravaged by the blight, posing a potential calamity for international industry. The tree also produces cyanogenic glycosides as a defense, though these are not effective against fungal pathogens and can even worsen infection by Pseudocercospora ulei. The legacy of Hevea brasiliensis is thus one of economic triumph and ongoing ecological risk.
Did You Know?
- The rubber tree can reach up to 43 meters (141 ft) in the wild, but cultivated trees are smaller because latex tapping restricts growth.
- About 70,000 seeds were smuggled to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in 1875 by Henry Wickham; only about four percent germinated.
- South American leaf blight, caused by the ascomycete Pseudocercospora ulei, ended rubber cultivation in the Amazon early in the 20th century.
- The tree produces cyanogenic glycosides as a defense, but these can actually worsen infection by the leaf blight fungus.
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