Read about Eucommia in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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Eucommia (Greek, eu, well, and kommi, gum; alluding to the fact that the plant contains rubber). Eucommiaceae. Deciduous tree grown for its handsome foliage and also for its possibility as a hardy rubber- producing tree. Branches with laminate pith: winter-buds conspicuous, with imbricate scales: Lvs. alternate, petioled, serrate, without stipules: fls. dioecious, without perianth, solitary in the axils of bracts at the base of the young shoots and precocious; staminate fls. pedicelled; stamens 6-10 with very short filaments and elongated linear anthers; pistillate fls. short-pedicelled with a 1-celled, 2-ovuled stipitate ovary, bifid at the apex, the lobes stigmatic on the inside: fr. a compressed winged nutlet.—-One species in Cent. China, not closely related to any other genus; it was first placed with the Trochodendraceae or Magnoliaceae and afterward with the Hamamelidaceae, but is now generally considered as representing a distinct family allied to the last named. Eucommia is an upright-growing vigorous tree with rather large elliptic dark green foliage, inconspicuous precocious flowers and winged fruits; in habit and foliage it resembles somewhat an elm tree. In China the bark is a most valued medicine. The tree contains rubber in all its parts, particularly in the young growth and in the bark. Though the rubber has proved to be of good quality, it is apparently difficult of extraction and not present in sufficient quantity to make the commercial exploitation of the tree pay; therefore the Lopes which have been set in this "hardy rubber tree" will probably never realize. The tree has proved perfectly hardy as far north as Massachusetts and grows well in a loamy humid soil. Propagation is by seeds and by greenwood cuttings under glass.
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 Eucommia ulmoides foliage and flowers. | ||||||||||||||
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Eucommia (Eucommia ulmoides) is a small tree native to China. It is extinct in the wild, but is widely cultivated in China for its bark, highly valued in herbology such as Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).
Eucommia is the sole member of the family Eucommiaceae, and was formerly considered to be a separate order, the Eucommiales. It is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in Chinese herbology, where it is called dùzhòng (杜仲).
Eucommia grows to about 15 m tall. The leaves are deciduous, arranged alternately, simple ovate with an acuminate tip, 8–16 cm long, and with a serrated margin. If a leaf is torn across, strands of latex exuded from the leaf veins solidify into rubber and hold the two parts of the leaf together. The flowers are inconspicuous, small and greenish; the fruit is a winged samara with one seed, very similar to an elm samara in appearance, 2–3 cm long and 1–2 cm broad.
Eucommia is also occasionally planted in botanical gardens and other gardens in Europe, North America and elsewhere, being of interest as the only cold-tolerant (to at least -30°C) rubber-producing tree.
It is also sometimes known as "Gutta-percha tree" or "Chinese rubber tree", but is not related to either the true Gutta-percha tree of southeastern Asia, nor to the South American rubber tree.
Fossils of Eucommia have been found in 10–35 million year old brown coal deposits in central Europe and widely in North America (Call & Dilcher 1997), indicating that the genus had a much wider range in the past.
Ethnomedical Use
The bark is used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat lower back pain, aching knees, and to prevent miscarriage. Also used to "tonify" the Yang.
References and external links
- Template:IUCN2006
- Call, V.B. and Dilcher, D.L. 1997. The fossil record of Eucommia (Eucommiaceae) in North America. American Journal of Botany 84(6): 798-814. Available online (pdf file)