Heritage Indian Rubber Tree - 91 Stamford Rd

Large Rubber Tree @ national museum

I remember walking by after school each day (ACPS, now National Archives) in the 1970s/80s and it hasn't changed one bit whilst all around, the urban landscape has changed almost beyond recognition.

This Heritage Indian Rubber Tree has stood here since at least 1955, as it can be identified in old photographs dating to that year. It is native in the northern Malay peninsula and was often planted as an ornamental in Singapore. The abundance of this tree in inhabited parts of Malaya is due to the veneration that the Indians hold for it. The Indian Rubber Tree is hardy and fast growing, up to 30m in height, has large, thick, oblong leaves up to 30 cm (12 inches) long and figlike fruits in pairs along the branches. The trunk and stems exude a milky sap, or latex. Among the cultivated varieties offered are ‘Decora,’ with broader and darker green leaves. The Indian Rubber Tree was once a major source of rubber in our part of the world. It lost out because the India-rubber tree latex contains a resin that hardens with time thus making the latex less elastic. It also does not produce as much latex as Pará Rubber (Hevea brasiliensis). The Pará Rubber produced higher quality latex and could be tapped about six years after being planted, while the Indian Rubber required about 15 years before it could be tapped. The Indians apparently had been using latex from the tree to line their containers, e.g., to contain honey or to bail out water. When the Europeans discovered the latex, thousands of India-rubber trees were planted in Malaysia in an effort to produce the latex in commercial quantities.