Black Prince Rubber Tree

black prince rubber tree

Ficus elastica, Commonly known as Black Prince Rubber Tree in the Philippines, is a flowering plant native to eastern parts of South and Southeast Asia. It has become naturalized in Sri Lanka, the West Indies, and the US state of Florida. It is a large tree growing to 30–40 meters, rarely up to 60 meters tall, with a stout trunk up to 2 meters in diameter. The trunk develops aerial and buttressing roots to anchor it in the soil and help support heavy branches.

It has broad shiny oval leaves 10–35 cm long and 5–15 cm broad, leaf size is largest on young plants and much smaller on old trees. The leaves develop inside a sheath at the apical meristem, which grows larger as the new leaf develops. When it is mature, it unfurls and the sheath drops off the plant. Inside the new leaf, another immature leaf is waiting to develop.

It is also called rubber bush, rubber tree, rubber plant, or Indian rubber bush, Indian rubber tree.

Scientific name: Ficus elastica
Family: Moraceae

References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ficus_elastica

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