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Rubber tapping is the process by which latex is collected from a rubber tree. The latex is harvested by slicing a groove into the bark of the tree at a depth of one-quarter inch (6.4 mm) with a hooked knife and peeling back the bark. Trees must be approximately six years old and six inches (150 mm) in diameter in order to be tapped for latex.
Palaquium gutta. Gutta-percha is a tree of the genus Palaquium in the family Sapotaceae, which is primarily used to create a high-quality latex of the same name. The material is rigid, naturally biologically inert, resilient, electrically nonconductive, and thermoplastic, most commonly sourced from Palaquium gutta; it is a polymer of isoprene which forms a rubber-like elastomer.
It was the principal source of latex among the Mesoamerican peoples in pre-Columbian times. The latex gathered from Castilla elastica was converted into usable rubber by mixing the latex with the juice of the morning glory species Ipomoea alba which, conveniently, is typically found in the wild as a vine climbing Castilla elastica .
Rubber particles are formed in the cytoplasm of specialized latex-producing cells called laticifers within rubber plants. [33] Rubber particles are surrounded by a single phospholipid membrane with hydrophobic tails pointed inward. The membrane allows biosynthetic proteins to be sequestered at the surface of the growing rubber particle, which ...
This latex was formerly used to make rubber, [2] but it should not be confused with the Pará rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis), the sap of which is the main commercial source of latex for rubber making. The latex of Ficus elastica has been tested for use in the manufacture of rubber, but without economic and technical results. [citation needed]
A laticifer is a type of elongated secretory cell found in the leaves and/or stems of plants that produce latex and rubber as secondary metabolites. Laticifers may be divided into: Articulated laticifers, i.e., composed of a series of cells joined together, or; Non-articulated laticifers, consisting of one long coenocytic cell.
In Peru, the tree was called 'árbol del caucho', and the latex extracted from it was called 'caucho'. The tree was used to obtain rubber by the natives who inhabited its geographical distribution. The Olmec people of Mesoamerica extracted and produced similar forms of primitive rubber from analogous latex-producing trees such as Castilla ...
The flowers are white, and are produced at the beginning of the rainy season. The fruit is a yellow berry, 3–5 cm (1.2–2.0 in) in diameter, which is edible; it contains one (occasionally two) seed(s). Its latex is used industrially for products such as chicle.