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Rubber Plant
The term rubber plant can apply to several different things. It can be a place that literally produces rubber. Most people use this term to refer to the rubber tree plant, which is an ornamental house plant. Or, it can also be the Para rubber tree. The Para rubber tree’s sap is called latex, and it can be used to produce rubber. The Para rubber tree can reach nearly thirty meters and begin producing sap after five or six years. This plant is not the only source of true rubber. This significant because synthetic and recycled rubbers are not used as much as natural rubber. This plant is native to South America, specifically the Amazon basin in Brazil. Due to the rampant demand since the rubber plant’s discovery in the late eighteenth century, the Para rubber tree has been planed throughout the world. Today the rubber tree is cultivated throughout Southeast Asia and Africa. Asia was responsible for about half of the world’s rubber in 2005. The sap, or latex, gathered from the plant is poured into flat pans and mixed with formic acid. Later, the wet rubber is pressed dry and then sent to a factory for further vulcanization and processing. Related Information |
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