.gif)
Castilla (plant)
Encyclopedia
Castilla is a tree genus
belonging to the family Moraceae
found native in Central America. It is named after Juan Diego del Castillo
(d. 1793), a botanist, who was friends with Vicente Cervantes
, who chose the name in his friend's honor.
The main species is Castilla elastica, one of several plants from which rubber has been extracted. The vernacular name is Panama rubber tree or castilloa rubber. The pre-Columbian MesoAmericans used the latex of this plant to make a ball used in a ceremonial game
. Castilla elastica is a weedy tree which has become invasive in areas where it has been introduced, such as in the South Pacific.
Castilla species exhibit a phenomenon known as cladoptosis
(the regular shedding of branches). This may be an adaptation to prevent the growth of climbing plants.
Species and subspecies
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
belonging to the family Moraceae
Moraceae
Moraceae — often called the mulberry family or fig family — are a family of flowering plants comprising about 40 genera and over 1000 species. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates...
found native in Central America. It is named after Juan Diego del Castillo
Juan Diego del Castillo
Juan Diego del Castillo was a Spanish pharmacist and botanist who joined Vicente Cervantes in Mexico. Castillo wrote Plantas descritas en el viaje de Acapulco. He died in Mexico. Castillo had been a contemporary of Martín Sessé y Lacasta...
(d. 1793), a botanist, who was friends with Vicente Cervantes
Vicente Cervantes
Vicente de Cervantes was a notable Spanish and Mexican physician and botanist.-Background:Don Vicente Cervantes was a contemporary of Martín Sessé y Lacasta and corresponded with Jean-Louis Berlandier, the French naturalist who botanized in Mexico and Texas as part of the Mexican Boundary...
, who chose the name in his friend's honor.
The main species is Castilla elastica, one of several plants from which rubber has been extracted. The vernacular name is Panama rubber tree or castilloa rubber. The pre-Columbian MesoAmericans used the latex of this plant to make a ball used in a ceremonial game
Mesoamerican ballgame
The Mesoamerican ballgame or Tlatchtli in Náhuatl was a sport with ritual associations played since 1,000 B.C. by the pre-Columbian peoples of Ancient Mexico and Central America...
. Castilla elastica is a weedy tree which has become invasive in areas where it has been introduced, such as in the South Pacific.
Castilla species exhibit a phenomenon known as cladoptosis
Cladoptosis
Cladoptosis refers to the phenomenon in botany of the regular shedding of branches. It is the counterpart for branches of the familiar process of regular leaf shedding by deciduous trees. As in leaf shedding, an abscission layer forms and the branch is shed cleanly.-Functions of...
(the regular shedding of branches). This may be an adaptation to prevent the growth of climbing plants.
- Castilla elasticaCastilla elasticaCastilla elastica, the Panama Rubber Tree, is a tree native to the tropical areas of Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. It was the principal source of latex among the Mesoamerican peoples in pre-Columbian times...
(Panama rubber tree, Castilloa rubber, palo de hule, olicuáhuitl - Castilla ulei Warb. (Caucho rubber)