Hevea brasiliensis seed
LATIN NAME: Hevea brasiliensis
COMMON NAME: Rubber Tree, Para Rubber Tree, Seringueira
The rubber tree is one of the most important trees in the modern world, and it has shaped the way we live more than almost any other plant. It grows as a tall, evergreen tree, reaching up to thirty metres, with a straight trunk and a rounded crown of large, glossy, three-part leaves and small, cream flowers, followed by the three-lobed fruits. Its true treasure lies in its white, milky sap, which is tapped from the trunk and processed into natural rubber, the material that has made tyres, footwear, hoses and thousands of other things possible. It is originally from the Amazon, and it is now grown across the tropics, one of the most economically important trees on Earth.
The rubber tree belongs to the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, and it is originally native to the Amazon basin. It is now pantropical in distribution, grown on plantations across Southeast Asia, Africa and South America, and it is the most important source of natural rubber in the world.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The rubber tree has a distinguished and wide-reaching place in scientific and industrial research. It is the world’s most important source of natural rubber, and researchers have studied the tree in depth in agricultural science, examining its cultivation, its tapping, its yields and its breeding, and improved clones have been developed for the rubber plantations of the world. The chemistry of the latex has also been studied in materials science and in research on natural polymers, since the rubber it produces is one of the most important natural materials in the modern world, and researchers continue to study its properties and its many uses. The tree has also been studied in ecology, and the history of its cultivation, from its native Amazon to the great plantations of Asia, is one of the most studied stories in the history of agriculture. For a tree of such world-changing importance, the rubber tree has an exceptionally rich record of research.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
Ecologically, the rubber tree is a generous tree of the tropical forest. Its flowers feed bees and other insects, and in its native Amazon it is a member of the great rainforest, giving shelter and food to a wealth of wildlife, while the rubber plantations of the world now cover vast areas of the tropics.
Its economic value is enormous. It is the world’s most important source of natural rubber, and the rubber from its sap is used in tyres, footwear, hoses, gloves and thousands of other products, supporting industries and livelihoods across the tropics and around the world. For a grower in the tropics, the rubber tree is one of the most valuable crops there is, and for a gardener it brings a handsome evergreen with a remarkable story. The seeds are easy to start — sow the large nuts in warm, moist compost, keep them in a warm, bright, humid spot, and they’ll sprout within a few weeks, growing on steadily into trees with a truly remarkable heritage.
Hevea brasiliensis, the Pará rubber tree, often simply called rubber tree, is a tree belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae, and the most economically important member of the genus Hevea. It is of major economic importance because its sap-like extract (known as latex) is the primary source of natural rubber.