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Rubber latex is extracted from rubber trees. The economic life of rubber trees in plantations is around 32 years, with up to 7 years being an immature phase and about 25 years of productive phase. The soil requirement is well-drained, weathered soil consisting of laterite, lateritic types, sedimentary types, nonlateritic red or alluvial soils.
Hevea brasiliensis, the Pará rubber tree, sharinga tree, seringueira, or most commonly, rubber tree or rubber plant, is a flowering plant belonging to the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, originally native to the Amazon basin, but is now pantropical in distribution due to introductions.
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.
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]
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.
The latex and the floral resin have antiseptic properties and have been used to seal wounds. Dry latex is sometimes burned like incense in churches. A few species are grown as house plants, or, in tropical areas, as ornamental trees and shrubs. Examples are Clusia rosea, C. major and C. orthoneura.
Breadfruit trees grow to a height of 26 metres (85 feet). [5] The large and thick leaves are deeply cut into pinnate lobes. All parts of the tree yield latex, [5] which is useful for boat caulking. [7] The trees are monoecious, with male and female flowers growing on the same tree.
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 .