Hardy Rubber Tree

Hardy Rubber Tree

Eucommia ulmoides

Eucommiaceae

▲ small tree at Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis

▲ Leaves

▲ Bark

Location on campus: on south side of Craig Hall in planter beds in walkway.

Hardy Rubber Tree: Eucommia ulmoides

• is a medium to large shade tree with alternate, deciduous, simple, glossy, dark-green, oval leaves with cuneate to serrate margins, 3-6 inches long and about 1/2 as wide (no real fall color)
• leaves will display rubbery “fibers" between separated sections, if torn
• twigs are thick, greenish-brown, with slight glaucous coating on new growth
• bark is grayish brown with ridge and furrow texture on older trees
• flowers not showy; fruit is a flattened, winged capsule, similar to a large elm fruit, but thicker;
• is a dioecious species with separate male and female trees
• grows 40-60 feet tall with rounded crown of near equal or greater width
• medium growth rate
• may suffer twig dieback in cold winters
• is a source of rubber, but not very economical to extract