''Hevea benthamiana'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of rubber tree in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Hevea ''Hevea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, with about ten members. It is also one of many names used commercially for the wood of the most economically important rubber tree, '' H. brasiliensis''. The genus is n ...

'', belonging to the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, e ...

. A medium-sized

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

tree growing to a height of about , it is native to the rainforests of northern Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela.

Description

''H. benthamiana'' is a medium-sized

tree growing to around , often with a narrow crown and a swollen, bottle-like trunk; these features seem to be a response to periodic flooding because they do not occur in cultivated trees. This tree is deciduous, shedding its old foliage before stubby "winter shoots" develop. This may be a response to the fungal leaf diseases that readily occur in the constantly humid environment. The leaves have three elliptical leaflets which have a golden-brown pubescence on the underside. The inflorescences have separate male and female flowers, the male flowers having seven to nine stamens in two irregular whorls. The seeds are rounded.

Habitat

The species is native to northern Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela. Its range is entirely to the north of the

Amazon River The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of t ...

and covers large parts of the Rio Negro and

Vaupés River Vaupés River (Uaupés River) is a tributary of the Rio Negro in South America. It rises in the Guaviare Department of Colombia, flowing east through Guaviare and Vaupés Departments. It forms part of the international border between the Vaupés ...

system, the Rio Negro being the largest left-bank tributary of the Amazon. It grows in areas of rainforest that are frequently inundated, often in association with the

fan palm Fan palm as a descriptive term can refer to any of several different kinds of palms ( Arecaceae) in various genera with leaves that are palmately lobed (rather than pinnately compound). Most are members of the subfamily Coryphoideae, though a f ...

Mauritia carana ''Mauritia carana'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Ven ...

'' in bogs that are flooded all year round. Because of its different habitat needs, it does not extend as far west as '' H. guianensis'', '' H. nitida'' or '' H. pauciflora''.

Uses

''H. benthamiana'' produces a good quality latex which is slightly lower in quality than that of the Pará rubber tree, '' H. brasiliensis''. The tree is tapped for the production of

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...

but is not widely grown as a plantation crop, although occasionally cultivated in Venezuela, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Indonesia. It has been used in breeding programmes for increasing the disease resistance and improving the growth qualities of ''H. brasiliensis''. The seeds contain toxic substances and are poisonous to humans when raw, but they are eaten by local people when thoroughly cooked.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5896824 Trees of the Amazon Trees of Brazil Trees of Colombia Trees of Venezuela Taxa named by Johannes Müller Argoviensis Crotonoideae