| Eucommia | |
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| Eucommia ulmoides foliage and flowers. | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Garryales |
| Family: | Eucommiaceae Engl.[2] |
| Genus: | Eucommia Oliv.[1] |
| Species | |
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Eucommia is a genus of smalltrees nownative toChina, with a fossil record that shows a much wider distribution. The single living species,Eucommia ulmoides, isnear threatened in the wild, but is widely cultivated in China for itsbark, and is highly valued inherbology such astraditional Chinese medicine.[4]
ModernEucommia trees grow to about 15 m tall. The leaves aredeciduous, arranged alternately, simpleovate with anacuminate tip, 8–16 cm (3.1–6.3 in) long, and with a serrated margin. If a leaf is torn across, strands oflatex exude from the leaf veins and solidify intorubber and hold the two parts of the leaf together. It flowers from March to May with theflowers being inconspicuous, small, and greenish. Thefruits ripen between June and November and are a wingedsamara with oneseed, very similar to anelm samara in appearance.The modern fruits are 2–3 cm (0.79–1.18 in) long and 1–2 cm (0.39–0.79 in) broad, while fruits of the extinct species range up to 21 millimetres (0.83 in) long.[4]
Eucommia isdioecious, with separate male and female plants.[5]
Eucommia is the sole member of the family Eucommiaceae, and was formerly considered to be a separate order, the Eucommiales. The modern species is sometimes known as the "hard rubber tree",[4] "Gutta-percha tree" or "Chinese rubber tree", but is not related to either the trueGutta-percha tree of southeastern Asia, nor to the South Americanrubber tree.
Eucommia tea has been shown to somewhat lower blood pressure.[6] It has been used and sold for a various other things. Research appears to be somewhat limited.
Eucommia ulmoides is native to forest areas on hills and mountains of the provinces in central and eastern China, though it has been suggested that the species is extinct in the wild.[4]E. ulmoides is also occasionally planted inbotanical gardens and othergardens inEurope,North America, and elsewhere, being of interest as the only cold-tolerant (to at least -30 °C) rubber-producing tree.Fossil species ofEucommia have been found in 10- to 35-million-year-oldbrown coal deposits in centralEurope,[4] in numerous fossil sites in Asia,[4] and five different fossil species have been described fromNorth America, indicating the genus had a much wider range in the past.[4]
Data related toEucommia at Wikispecies
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