Castilla elastica Castilla elastica Castilla elastica, the Panama rubber tree, is a tree native to the tropical areas of Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. It was the principal source of latex among the Mesoamerican peoples in pre-Columbian times. The latex gathered from "Castilla elastica" was converted into usable rubber by mixing the latex with the juice of the morning glory species "Ipomoea alba" which, conveniently, is typically found in the wild as a vine climbing "Castilla elastica". The rubber produced by this method found several uses, including most notably, the manufacture of balls for the Mesoamerican ballgame "ōllamaliztli". The Aztec
Ficus virens Ficus virens Ficus virens is a plant of the genus "Ficus" found in India, southeast Asia, through Malaysia and into Northern Australia. Its common name is white fig; it is locally known as pilkhan and in the Kunwinjku language it is called an-borndi. Like many figs, its fruits are edible. One of the most famous specimens of this tree is the Curtain Fig Tree of the Atherton Tableland, near Cairns, a popular tourist attraction. "Ficus virens" var. "sublanceolata" occurs the subtropical rainforest of northeastern New South Wales, and south eastern Queensland in Australia. It is a medium-sized tree which grows