Ceara Rubber Tree, Tree cassava
Manihot carthaginensis glaziovii

Family: Euphorbiaceae

What it is like

Manihot carthaginensis glaziovii is a deciduous Tree growing to 6 m (19ft) by 4 m (13ft) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay and nutritionally poor soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry moist or wet soil and can tolerate drought.

Height (m): 6

Where it is found

Often left behind as a relict of cultivation and therefore found in scrubs, secondary forest and waste places along roads and rivers, near paddies, old cultivated fields. Also found occasionally in dense, primary forests.

S. America - northeast Brazil.

Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed

Countries/locations it is found in

S. America - northeast Brazil. Native to eastern Brazil.

How it is used

Food

Rating: 2

Leaves - cooked. Eaten as a vegetable. The leaves contain hydrocyanic acid, which is toxic, but it is destroyed by heat and so the cooked leaves are safe to eat. Root - cooked. A famine food, it is eaten in times of food scarcity. The root is rich in starch but it is hard and woody. It also contains hydrocyanic acid (see note above re the leaves). Seed - oily.

Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.

Medicine

Rating: 2

The stem and root are ingredients in a remedy for skin infections.

Other

Rating: 3

Agroforestry Uses: The tree is used to provide temporary shade for cocoa plants. The leaves are applied as green leaf manure. In some areas, especially where the rainfall is low, the species is used as a hedge. Other Uses: The plant is used in breeding programmes for cassava (Manihot esculenta), being used to improve disease resistance. The tree is a source of latex that can be used to make rubber. The rubber is said to be of good appearance, but the resin content, at 3 - 12%, is too high, It is, therefore, considered to be uneconomical when there are other sources. The latex can be used as a glue for paper. The seeds contain 90 % unsaturated oil. (This seems a very high figure.) The oil might possibly be used as a fuel for pre-combustion diesel engines. The wood is coarse-textured, straight-grained, very light in weight, very susceptible to wood-eating organisms. Easy to cut but of quite low quality, it is used to make items such use boxes.

Agroforestry Services: Crop shade: Plants providing crop shade especially trees.

Industrial Crop: Hydrocarbon: Materials, chemicals and energy include bioplastics, rubber, biomass products gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, butane, propane, biogas. Plants are usually resprouting plants and saps.

Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.

Regional Crop: These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.

Agroforestry Services: Crop shade: Plants providing crop shade especially trees.

Industrial Crop: Hydrocarbon: Materials, chemicals and energy include bioplastics, rubber, biomass products gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, butane, propane, biogas. Plants are usually resprouting plants and saps.

Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.

Regional Crop: These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.

Carbon Farming: Plants that can be a critical part of the solution to climate problems. The Carbon Farming Solution - Eric Toensmeier.

How it is grown

A plant of the semi-arid tropics, where it is found at elevations from sea level up to 1,200 metres. It grows in areas where the mean annual rainfall is within the range 600 - 700mm. Prefers a position in a sunny position. The tree tolerates a wide range of soils including very poor and acidic soils. It can succeed in sticky red soil, which may be water logged. Established plants are very drought tolerant. Plants have escaped from cultivation in many of the areas in which they have been grown. They are reported to be invasive in Hawaii. The growth of young plants is rapid. The plant can flower the whole year through, it probably also fruits the year round but no data is available. The tree can be tapped at the age of 3 years.

Propagating it: Seed - usually sown in situ. Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a partially shaded position in a nursery seedbed. A germination rate of around 50% can be expected, with the seed sprouting within 30 - 50 days. Cuttings.

Best place to grow:

Habit: Tree

Hardiness: 10-12

Growth: Fast

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Dry, moist, wet

Things to keep in mind

Plants have escaped from cultivation in many of the areas in which they have been grown. They are reported to be invasive in Hawaii. The growth of young plants is rapid.

Its other names

Local names

Ceara Rubber Tree, False Tapioca, Manicoba, Ubi. French - manioc de ceara, maniçoba, ceara, caouchouc de ceara. Portuguese - manicoba. Swahili - mpira. Yoruba - gbaguda

Synonyms

Manihot glaziovii Müll.Arg.