The rubber tree, Hevea brasiliensis, is the principal source of natural rubber traditionally harvested from latex.
This tree is native to the Amazon Basin, especially areas of Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia. Its milky latex is collected by making shallow cuts in the bark and allowing the liquid to run into containers. The latex is then processed into natural rubber.
Amazonian rubber became internationally important during the nineteenth-century rubber boom. Seeds were taken from Brazil to plantations in Southeast Asia, where countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand eventually became major producers. Today, most natural rubber comes from smallholders and plantations in tropical Asia.
The rubber tree is sometimes confused with unrelated plants whose common names include “rubber,” such as the rubber plant used indoors. Synthetic rubber is made from petroleum-based chemicals, whereas natural rubber comes from plant latex. Hevea remains the dominant commercial source of natural rubber.