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Eucommia
Eucommia ulmoides foliage and flowers.
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Garryales
Family:	Eucommiaceae Engler
Genus:	Eucommia Oliv.
Species:	E. ulmoides
Binomial name
Eucommia ulmoides Oliv.

Eucommia (Eucommia ulmoides) is a small tree native to China. It is near threatened in the wild, but is widely cultivated in China for its bark, highly valued in herbology such as Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

Characteristics

Eucommia is the sole member of the family Eucommiaceae, and was formerly considered to be a separate order, the Eucommiales. It is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in Chinese herbology, where it is called dùzhòng (Chinese: 杜仲).

Growth

Eucommia grows to about 15 m tall. The leaves are deciduous, arranged alternately, simple ovate with an acuminate tip, 8–16 cm long, and with a serrated margin. If a leaf is torn across, strands of latex exuded from the leaf veins solidify into rubber and hold the two parts of the leaf together. It flowers from March to May. The flowers are inconspicuous, small and greenish; the fruit, June to November, is a winged samara with one seed, very similar to an elm samara in appearance, 2–3 cm long and 1–2 cm broad.

Distribution

Eucommia is also occasionally planted in botanical gardens and other gardens in Europe, North America and elsewhere, being of interest as the only cold-tolerant (to at least -30°C) rubber-producing tree.

Fossils of Eucommia have been found in 10–35 million year old brown coal deposits in central Europe and widely in North America (Call & Dilcher 1997), indicating that the genus had a much wider range in the past.

Synonymy

It is also sometimes known as "Gutta-percha tree" or "Chinese rubber tree", but is not related to either the true Gutta-percha tree of southeastern Asia, nor to the South American rubber tree.

Ethnomedicinal Use

The bark is used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat lower back pain, aching knees, and to prevent miscarriage. Also used to "tonify" the Yang.

See also

• Chinese herbology 50 fundamental herbs

References and external links

• World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1998). Eucommia ulmoides. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
• Call, V.B. and Dilcher, D.L. 1997. The fossil record of Eucommia (Eucommiaceae) in North America. American Journal of Botany 84(6): 798-814. Available online (pdf file)

From Wikispecies

Eucommia ulmoides

Taxonavigation

Classification System: APG II (down to family level)

Main Page
Cladus: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiospermae
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Euasterids I
Ordo: Garryales
Familia: Eucommiaceae
Genus: Eucommia
Species: †E. constans - †E. eocenica - †E. jeffersonensis - †E. montana - †E. rolandii - E. ulmoides

Name

Eucommia Oliver