Natural rubber at least showed promise as rubber sources, include the rubber fig ("Ficus elastica"), Panama rubber tree ("Castilla elastica"), various spurges ("Euphorbia" spp.), lettuce ("Lactuca" species), the related "Scorzonera tau-saghyz", various "Taraxacum" species, including common dandelion ("Taraxacum officinale") and Russian dandelion ("Taraxacum kok-saghyz"), and perhaps most importantly for its hypoallergenic properties, guayule ("Parthenium argentatum"). The term gum rubber is sometimes applied to the tree-obtained version of natural rubber in order to distinguish it from the synthetic version. The first use of rubber was by the indigenous cultures of Mesoamerica. The earliest archeological evidence of the use of natural latex from the
Ficus amplissima surface covered with annular scars and a pale yellow . "Ficus amplissima" typically begins as an epiphyte in the branch of a tree that grows aerial roots that can provide nutrients when they reach soil. The aerial roots can surround the trunk of the host tree, which, combined with the growth of "F. amplissima" in the branches, can eventually kill the host tree. "Ficus amplissima" displays a syconium type of inflorescence (arrangement of the flowers on a plant) borne by all figs (genus "Ficus"), formed by an enlarged, fleshy, hollow receptacle with multiple ovaries on the inside surface. It is