366 



PLANTS AND MAN 



Asiatic Latex-producing Plants 



In addition to the Brazilian rubber tree so widely used in the 

 Asiatic rubber plantations, there are three native Asiatic latex 

 plants that are deserving of mention. These are India rubber, 

 gutta-percha, and jelutong. 



India rubber or Assam rubber, as it is sometimes called, 

 comes from a large tree of the Mulberry Family — in which occurs 

 also Panama rubber — found in northern India and Malaya 



Fig. 238. — India rubber 

 comes from a tree in the Mul- 

 berry Family. 



Fig. 239. — Gutta percha 

 is derived from the latex of 

 several trees and shrubs native 

 to the Malay region. 



(fig. 238). It is often grown as an ornamental, known simply as 

 "rubber plant," in greenhouses and homes. The massive, wide- 

 spread crown is supported by prop roots which are tapped along 

 with the trunks proper. The latex is collected on bamboo mats 

 and on the tree trunks where it coagulates, later to be scraped 

 off, cleaned and dried. Some plantations of India rubber now 

 exist although the yield is low, the quality inferior, and the 

 trees are slow in maturing. 



Gutta-percha is a non-elastic rubber derived from the latex 

 of several trees and shrubs native to Malaya and adjacent 

 regions (fig. 239). They, like chicle and balata, are members of 



