Hevea brasiliensis
Amazonian latex tree
Hevea brasiliensis is the rubber tree, a tropical plant native to the Amazon basin that produces latex—the milky fluid tapped commercially to make natural rubber.
The tree was smuggled from Brazil to British colonies in Southeast Asia in the 1870s, establishing plantations that now dominate global production.
Hevea brasiliensis remains the primary source of natural rubber for tires and medical equipment.
- latexMilky plant-derived polymer
- tappingRepeated light striking
- natural rubberElastic polymer from plants
- plantationLarge-scale farming operation
- ManausBrazilian city on Amazon
deforestation · vulcanization · indigenous knowledge · biodiversity loss · traditional medicine · agroforestry · tropical rainforest · sustainable farming · latex gloves · harvesting · tires · grafting · soil erosion · Brazil · milky · adhesives · white · carbon sequestration
- latex plantsrubber tree, milkweed, milkweed pod, euphorbia, spurge
- industrial commoditiesnatural rubber, synthetic rubber, tin, commodity exchange, tin mining