Castilla elastica (Nahuatl) word for rubber was "ulli / olli", from which their word for the ballgame derived), and also their name for the ancient people they associated with the origin of the ballgame, the Olmecs ("olmeca": "rubber people"). The Nahuatl word for the tree of "Castilla elastica" is olicuáhuitl; in Spanish it is known as palo de hule. Caucho, castilloa rubber. 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
Ficus americana Ficus americana Ficus americana, commonly known as the West Indian laurel fig or Jamaican cherry fig, is a tree in the family Moraceae which is native to the Caribbean, Mexico in the north, through Central and South America south to southern Brazil. It is an introduced species in Florida, USA. The species is variable; the five recognised subspecies were previously placed in a large number of other species. "Ficus americana" is a shrub or tree which grows up to 30 m (100 ft) tall. With about 750 species, "Ficus" (Moraceae) is one of the largest angiosperm genera (ranked the 31st