Rubber Tree Adaptations

Rubber tree hevea brasiliensis south american tropical tree of the spurge family euphorbiaceae.

Rubber tree adaptations.

A rubber tree also referred to as rubberwood can be tapped for latex once it reaches approximately six years of age. They can grow to be 14 inches 35 cm long and up to 6 inches 15 24 cm wide. When the rubber tree grows older it will generate less amount of latex. And a large area of bark.

There are not too many predators something that hurts it but there are some in south america leaf blight is a fungus that stops the tree from growing. The rubber tree has beautiful smooth dark shiny leaves and a light shaded bark. In the wild the rubber tree will grow to heights of 100 to 130 feet and can live up to 100 years. Another predator of the rubber tree is the tambaqui.

It is a rapidly growing tree as are most trees in the tropical rainforest it can sprout 24 inches 60 cm or more each season if it is in the proper environment. Most of the world s natural rubber however comes from the rubber tree with the scientific name hevea brasiliensis. Its most famous feature is the milky white sap known as latex which flows freely from the tree when a sliver of bark is removed. The rubber tree in the plantation has slower growth level if they are tapped for latex.

Therefore the people have to cut it down. Cultivated on plantations in the tropics and subtropics especially in southeast asia and western africa it replaced the rubber plant in the early 20th century as the chief source of natural rubber it has soft wood. Found in many products from tires to toys natural rubber is made from the milky sap of the rubber tree. One kind the india rubber plant is a common houseplant.

During the day rubber trees prefer temperatures from 21 29 degrees celsius 70 85 degrees fahrenheit and at night they like temperatures from 18 23 degrees celsius 65. The second reason is due to the cutting down of the tree after it is 30 years old. These trees love to be in full bright lights but will adapt if necessary to duller lighting. Finally most rainforest tree bark is thin and smooth this is because it allows water to slide down easily.

The leaves of the rubber tree have drip tips photo. Tambaqui destroys the rubber tree s seedlings and eats the nut that are left. War against the rubber tree. These are all adaptations that plants have made in order to thrive in the tropical rainforest environment.

There are several kinds of plants that can produce rubber. The leaves of the rubber tree are glossy oval shaped and dark green.