Image: Wikimedia Commons (See link for license)
Eucommia / Hardy Rubber Tree
Eucommia ulmoides
トチュウ
A deciduous tall tree native to China. The bark, leaves, and fruits contain gutta-percha (a natural rubber-like substance); tearing a leaf reveals white elastic threads. Used in traditional Chinese medicine as 'Du Zhong' tea, a popular health beverage.
Identification Points
- ✓Tearing a leaf reveals white elastic threads (gutta-percha)
- ✓Leaves ovate to elliptic with fine serrate margins
- ✓Dioecious; produces winged samara-like fruits
Habitat
Parks, gardens, and tea plantations (cultivated)
Season
October–November (fruits)
Morphological TraitsAI-estimated, needs verification
Growth form
Tree
Evergreen/Deciduous
Deciduous
Leaf margin
Serrate
Leaf shape
Round
Habitat
Cultivated
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Pinnate
Petal fusion
Free
Stipules
Absent
Leaf dissection
Undivided
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Ovary position
Superior
Plant sex
Dioecious
Latex
Present
Phylogenetic Positionトチュウ科 →
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core Eudicots > Garryales > Eucommiaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous (ca. 90 million years ago)
Evolution Notes
Eucommiaceae is a monotypic family (1 genus, 1 species), a 'living fossil' that once had a wide Northern Hemisphere distribution but now survives in the wild only in China.
View on evolution timeline →Sources & References
AI-generated, needs verification