Ficus elastica, the rubber fig, rubber bush, rubber tree, rubber plant, or Indian rubber bush, Indian rubber tree, or rambung is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae, native to eastern parts of South Asia and Southeast Asia. It has become naturalized in Sri Lanka, the West Indies, and the US state of Florida.
Description
It is a large tree in the
banyan group of figs, growing to – rarely up to – tall, with a stout trunk up to in diameter. The trunk develops
Aerial root and
Buttress roots to anchor it in the soil and help support heavy branches.
It has broad shiny oval leaves long and broad; leaf size is largest on young plants (occasionally to long), much smaller on old trees (typically long). 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. The canopy of the tree is dense.
Pollination and fruiting
As with other members of the genus
Ficus, the flowers require a particular species of
fig wasp to pollinate it in a co-evolved relationship. Because of this relationship, the rubber plant does not produce highly colourful or fragrant flowers to attract other pollinators. The fruit is a small yellow-green oval fig long, barely edible; these are fake fruits that contain fertile seeds only in areas where the
pollinating insect is present.
Range
The natural range of
F. elastica extends from
Nepal in the north to
Indonesia,
Bhutan, Northeastern India,
Bangladesh,
Myanmar,
Thailand,
Yunnan in
China, and
Malaysia. It has been widely introduced in most tropical regions of the world, including
Hawaii and the West Indies. In Europe, it can be found in mild locations throughout the Mediterranean Basin.
Cultivation and uses
In parts of India, people guide the roots of the tree over chasms to eventually form living bridges.
To this day there are large bridges woven from aerial roots in Meghalaya, India. Although the trees used for these bridges are very large, aerial roots can be found on
F. elastica
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Latex
All parts of the plant contain an abundant milky white
latex, a chemical compound separate from its sap and carried and stored in different
laticifer. The latex of
Ficus elastica can irritate the eyes and skin, and is toxic if taken internally.
[MacDonald, Elvin "The World Book of House Plants" Popular Books] Its sap can be used to make
rubber;
it was once the most common plant in
Sumatra and
Malay Peninsula for tapping before the Pará tree (
Hevea brasiliensis) was introduced from Brazil in the late 1800s and became popular since then.
Rambung trees were very valuable to farmers in
Aceh who could find them in their newly cleared lands.
The latex of
Ficus elastica has been tested for use in the manufacture of modern rubber, but without economic and technical results.
Ornamental
Ficus elastica is grown around the world as an
ornamental plant, outside in frost-free climates (though it also tolerates light frosts) from the tropical to the Mediterranean and inside in colder climates as a houseplant. It thrives in USDA hardiness zones 10–12.
[ Ficus elastica (Rubber Tree) by Gardenia.net. Retrieved 1 May 2025.] Although it is grown in Hawaii, the species of fig wasp required to allow it to spread naturally is not present there.
In cultivation, it prefers bright sunlight but not hot temperatures. It has a high tolerance for drought, but prefers humidity and thrives in wet, tropical conditions. Ornamental hybrids (such as Robusta) have been derived from Ficus elastica with broader, stiffer and more upright leaves than the wild form. Many such hybrids exist, often with Variegation leaves.
Most cultivated plants are produced by vegetative propagation. This can be done by cuttings or by layering.
== Gallery ==
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on the right]]
, Fiji, showing the effects of constant pruning on the growth form.]]
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cultivar]]
