''Castilla elastica'', the Panama rubber tree, is a tree native to the

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

areas of Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. It was the principal source of

latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latices are found in nature, but synthetic latices are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a wikt:milky, milky fluid, which is present in 10% of all floweri ...

among the

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El S ...

n peoples in pre-Columbian times. The latex gathered from ''Castilla elastica'' was converted into usable

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. Types of polyisoprene ...

by mixing the latex with the juice of the

morning glory Morning glory (also written as morning-glory) is the common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae, whose taxonomy and systematics remain in flux. These species are distributed across numerous genus, gene ...

species ''

Ipomoea alba ''Ipomoea alba'', known in English as white tropical morning glory, moonflower or moonvine, is a species of night-blooming morning glory, native to tropical and subtropical regions of North and South America, from Argentina to northern Mexico, A ...

'' which, conveniently, is typically found in the wild as a

vine A vine is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas, or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.Jackson; Benjamin; Da ...

climbing ''Castilla elastica''. The rubber produced by this method found several uses, including most notably, the manufacture of balls for the

Mesoamerican ballgame The Mesoamerican ballgame (, , ) was a sport with ritual associations played since at least 1650 BC by the pre-Columbian people of Ancient Mesoamerica. The sport had different versions in different places during the millennia, and a modernized ...

'' ōllamaliztli''. The

Nahuatl Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

word for rubber was ''ulli / olli'', from which their word for the ballgame derived), and also their name for the ancient people they associated with the origin of the ballgame, the

Olmecs The Olmecs () or Olmec were an early known major Mesoamerican civilization, flourishing in the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco from roughly 1200 to 400 Before the Common Era, BCE during Mesoamerica's Mesoamerican chronolog ...

(''olmeca'': "rubber people"). The Nahuatl word for the tree of ''Castilla elastica'' is ''olicuáhuitl''; in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

it is known as palo de hule.

Subspecies

*''Castilla elastica'' ssp. ''costaricana'' (Liebm.) C.C.Berg *''Castilla elastica'' ssp. ''elastica''

Vernacular names

Caucho, castilloa rubber.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1768699 Moraceae Plants described in 1794 Rubber Natural history of Mesoamerica Crops originating from Mexico Trees of Northern America Trees of Colombia Trees of Central America Trees of Ecuador

Subspecies

Vernacular names

See also

References

External links