Rubber Tree

Rubber Tree is a plant briefly mentioned in the game School of Dragons.

Description
The Rubber Tree (Hevea brasiliensis) is a tree from the family Euphorbiaceae of the genus Hevea. It is commonly known as the main source for natural rubber (as the name suggests), which is extracted from its latex.

The tree has a cylindrical trunk with a swollen, bottle-shaped base. The bark is mostly brown, oozing latex when damaged. The leaves are divided in three leaflets that are arranged in a spiral. The flowers are pungent, creamy-yellow and have no petals. The fruit is a capsule, containing three large seeds, which opens with an explosion when it ripes.

Function
Both in the franchise and in real life, the rubber tree is used to make an elastic material with the same name as the plant. However, while in the franchise it is used sap from the tree, in reality it is used the latex, the two liquis often been confused by many people.

School of Dragons
While searching for a solution to make saddles less breakable, Heather suggests using rubber tree sap, so she sends the player to Phlegma. The botanist offers the player some sap which she got from a tropical treadesman.

"We're interested in the sap that we draw fresh from the rubber tree. It's sticky when liquid, but breaks easily when solid and dry. The trees grow in warmer climes far away from our shores so it's quite hard to get enough to work with."

- Heather