Ficus elastica

• Botanical Name : Ficus elastica Roxb. Ex Hornem.
• Common Name : Indian Rubber Tree
• Plant Family : Moraceae

• Earlier this plant was placed in family Urticaceae but according to the modern views it should be placed in a separate family Moraceae which is separated from family Urticaceae.

• Plant Form : Tree
• Occurrence (Sectors) : 1
• Occurrence (Special Areas) : Gujarat Forestry Research Foundation, Indroda Park, Ayurvedic Udyan

About Ficus elastica Plant :

• Habit : A large tree.
• Leaves : Large, elliptic, acute, shining, coriaceous, stipules large, caduceus, pinkish-yellow bud scales, lateral veins parallel.
• Inflorescence : Hypanthodium, receptacles axillary in pairs, ovoid-oblong, greenish-yellow when ripe.
• Flowers :
  • Male flowers sepals 3, stamen 1.
  • Gall flowers sessile, sepals 3, style short.
  • Female flowers sessile, sepals 3, ovary superior, style short, stigma club-shaped.
• Fruit : Syconus red, globose.
• Flowering and Fruiting time : November-January
• Significance :
  • It is originally cultivated as a source of rubber.
  • It can yield a milky white latex which has been used in some cases to make rubber, but it should not be confused with the Para rubber tree, the main commercial source of latex for rubber making.
  • It is also sometimes grown as an ornamental tree in the gardens.