Eucommia ulmoides

The Chinese rubber tree or the hardy rubber tree is in the Eucommiaceae family and is native to central China. It is near threatened in the wild but is highly cultivated in China for the medicinal value of its bark. It grows to about 15 m tall.

• Leaves are deciduous, alternate, simple, ovate, dark green, 8—16 cm long, with an acuminate tip and a serrated margin. If torn across, the leaf exudes strands of latex from its veins which solidify into rubber.
• Species is dioecious. Flowers are inconspicuous, small, greenish in April.
• Fruit in mid to late summer is a winged samara with one seed, 2—3 cm long and 1—2 cm across and resembles to an ash seed.