The Ficus elastica or Rubber Tree, as it is more commonly known, is among the oldest plants used as hoseplants worldwide. Elastica leaves and stems and even wood 'bleed' white sticky sap when broken or damaged from which rubber can be made, hence the name Rubber Tree. Elastica is an attractive large tree in wide open spaces.
Like most ficus, Ficus elastica is a large tree, growing to 40-50 feet tall and even wider on its spreading branches held up by aerial roots which become multiple trunks. Many authors refer to growth habit as "widely sprawling."
Rubber Tree as well as shedding large, coarse leaves daily, chokes any and all undergrowth. The sun is unable to penetrate the soil below elastica.
RubberTrees also have a unusual pink or sometimes red "flower" that shoots from the end of the branch.
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