Ficus elastica rubber making. Just as with "Hevea brasiliensis", the latex of "Ficus elastica" is an irritant to the eyes and skin and is toxic if taken internally. Ficus elastica Ficus elastica, the rubber fig, rubber bush, rubber tree, rubber plant, or Indian rubber bush, Indian rubber tree, is a species of plant in the fig genus, native to eastern parts of South Asia and southeast Asia. It has become naturalized in Sri Lanka, the West Indies, and the US State of Florida. It is a large tree in the banyan group of figs, growing to (rarely up to ) tall, with
Ficus obliqua public spaces, and is well-suited for use as an indoor plant or in bonsai. All parts of the tree have been used in traditional medicine in Fiji. Commonly known as the small-leaved fig, "Ficus obliqua" was described by German naturalist Georg Forster in 1786 based on type material collected in Vanuatu. Dutch botanist Friedrich Miquel described "Urostigma eugenioides" from Albany Island in Queensland in 1861, which was reclassified by Victorian Government Botanist Ferdinand von Mueller as "Ficus eugenioides" in 1867, and it was known as this for many years. However, as Forster's name is older, it takes precedence. The specific