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 altissima is obtained. It has been planted in southern Florida, where it didn't used to seed because there weren't any native insects available to pollinate the flowers. However, non-native wasps ("Eupristina" sp.), that have become established in the area, seems capable of pollinating it and the tree is now proliferating and becoming invasive. Ficus altissima Ficus altissima, commonly known as the council tree, is a species of flowering plant, a fig tree in the family Moraceae. It is a large, stately evergreen tree and is native to southeastern Asia. "Ficus altissima" is a large, evergreen forest tree with a buttressed trunk