Rubber tree
Hevea brasiliensis (Willd. ex A.Juss.) Müll.Arg.
Euphorbiaceae family
The rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) is a large deciduous tree of the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae), native to the Amazon basin (S. Tropical America per Kew POWO: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Peru, Venezuela). Its bark holds latex vessels yielding a white emulsion of about 60% water and 33–35% cis-1,4-polyisoprene — natural rubber, one of the most important elastic polymers. After vulcanisation was invented (1839), rubber was carried from the Amazon to Asia, and Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, China and West Africa are now the main producers. The latex contains allergenic proteins (Hev b 1–15); the IUCN lists the species as Least Concern (LC, 2020).
