Landolphia Rubber (Landolphia heudelotii)
Description
Landolphia heudelotii is a bushy or climbing shrub that can produce stems up to 15 metres long. The plant is highly valued for its fruit, which is gathered from the wild and often sold in local markets. This species was at one time the main rubber supplier to Senegal, Guinea, and the French Sudan (modern Mali). Some of its rubber even reached Europe. The plants were so heavily over-exploited that, towards the end of the 19th century the wild population had dropped dramatically and local farmers were encouraged to cultivate the plant in gardens and farms. Demand for the rubber from this plant is now almost non-existent, apart from various local uses, because most rubber is tapped from the S. American Hevea brasiliensis or is synthesised
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum: Magnoliophyta
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Gentianales
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Family: Apocynaceae
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Genus: Landolphia
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