Plant
Gutta Percha
Palaquium guttaAlso known as Gutta-Percha Tree, Getah Percha, Tubin Tree
Standing tall in the lowland rainforests of Southeast Asia, gutta percha features glossy dark green leaves with striking coppery-golden undersides. The tree produces a natural bio-polymer latex that revolutionized global telecommunications in the nineteenth century as underwater telegraph cable insulation. Wild trees remain vital canopy pillars that provide essential fruit and shelter for tropical forest fauna.
RainforestLatex TreeEvergreen
—observations
—countries
—peak records
Near ThreatenedConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXNear ThreatenedRed List categories, explained →
Diet & preySunlight, Soil Nutrients, Water
Predators
- Forest Primates
- Fruit Bats
- Hornbills
ThreatsHistorical over-harvesting, habitat loss
HabitatsLowland tropical rainforests
Life span100+ years
Classification
- FamilySapotaceae
- SpeciesPalaquium gutta
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskLow
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
- Why interaction risk is low
- Safe to observe at a normal distance.
- What to notice
- Recognizable by its tall straight trunk, milky sap, and leaves with distinct coppery-brown undersides.
- Support conservation
- Observe from established forest trails without climbing or damaging the bark.
Responsible observation
- Spotting Leaves: Look for dark green leaves with fuzzy golden-brown undersides high in the canopy.
- Protecting Bark: Avoid scarring the trunk or attempting to extract latex from living trees.
Frequent Companion Francesco Veronesi from Italy / CC BY-SA 2.0 · cc-by-sa
Competitor (c) Cheongweei Gan, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Cheongweei Gan · cc-by-sa
Close Relative (c) Ong Jyh Seng, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Ong Jyh Seng · cc-by-sa
Family Member Marco Schmidt[1] / CC BY-SA 3.0 · cc-by-sa
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