Hardy Rubber Tree (Eucommia ulmoides)

This tree is widely cultivated but is listed as Vulnerable by International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Missouri Botanic Garden’s Plant Finder states it is extinct in its range in central China. Its unique feature is that it contains up to 3% latex and can be seen when gently splitting a leaf or fruit capsule. This taxon however is not used for rubber production but does have some medicinal use in Chinese medicine. Our specimen is fairly large at 130-inches circumference, 60-feet in height, 67-feet in crown spread and 210-points. This tree hides to the west of the shelter house in Section 53 where one can walk under the canopy and find seedlings that don’t venture any farther than the distance they fell from the tree. No animals consume the seeds preventing them from being vectored outward.