FICUS ELASTICA

Updated 05-May-2020.

Mondo shtuff from around the internet, all about FICUS ELASTICA!

Ficus elastica Roxb. ex Hornem. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science: This species is accepted, and its native range is Nepal to China (W. Yunnan) and W. Malesia.

rubber plant (Ficus elastica): Ficus elastica, the rubber fig, rubber bush, rubber tree, rubber plant, or Indian rubber bush, Indian rubber tree, is a species of plant in the fig genus, native to east India, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma, China (Yunnan), Malaysia, and Indonesia. It has become naturalized in Sri Lanka, the West Indies, and the US State of Florida. (Source: Wikipedia, ”, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ficus_elastica, CC BY-SA 3.0 . Photo: (c) Igmar Grewar, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC))

My botty best at summarizing from Wikipedia: the rubber fig is native to eastern parts of south Asia and southeast Asia . it has broad shiny oval leaves 10–35 centimetres (3.9–13.8 in) long . the leaves develop inside a sheath the rubber plant does not produce highly colourful or fragrant flowers to attract other pollinators . the fruit is a small yellow-green oval fig 1 centimetre (0.39 in) long, barely edible . it has been the species of fig wasp required to allow it to spread naturally is not present there . most cultivated plants are produced by vegetative propagation . this can be done by cuttings or by layering . commercial rubber is produced from the sap of the rubber tree . in cultivation, it prefers bright sunlight but not hot temperatures . all parts of the plant contain an abundant milky white latex . Ficus elastica has a high tolerance for drought, prefers humidity and thrives in wet, tropical conditions . many hybrids exist, often with variegated leaves . this latex was formerly used to