What tree changed the way the world communicated?
By Chelsie Vandaveer
April 9, 2002
killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~
Suggested Reading—>Click here.
In May 1819, an assistant surgeon in the British army, Dr. William Montgomerie, was stationed with the East India Company in Singapore. Sometime before 1824, a Portuguese warship stopped in Singapore. The ship's surgeon, Dr. Jose d'Almeida decided to stay. D'Almeida set up a trading company and bought land for plantations.
Montgomerie and d'Almeida became interested in the resin of the getah tree (Palaquium gutta Burck) [pa lay' kwee um gut' ta] that natives collected and shaped into handles for riding crops and tools. Odd stuff, it hardened upon exposure to air, but put into hot water, it softened. It would take any shape one gave it.
D'Almeida and Montgomerie experimented with the resin. In 1843, the doctors sent samples to the Royal Society of Arts in London. They had 'discovered' natural plastic.
Europe was ready for the resin, gutta-percha. A number of inventors were working on what would become the telegraph. But the wires put up to send electrical currents shorted in rain and were useless underwater. Gutta-percha did not conduct electricity, could be heated and extruded around the wire, and did not break down when wet.
In 1845, the first underwater cable was laid connecting England and France with a telegraph. Unfortunately, the cable failed within a few hours of being laid. It was hooked by a fisherman who cut a piece to determine what he'd snagged. But the cable lasted long enough to prove that the world could communicate electrically. By the end of the 19th century, gutta-percha insulated 250,000 miles of telegraph cables.
The Missouri Botanical Garden has a herbarium drawing of Palaquium gutta.
Click here to view the drawing
The Smithsonian has an excellent site on the laying of the oceanic telegraph cables.
Click here for more information
killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~
Suggested Reading:
What plant changed how history was recorded? Plants that Changed History - January 1, 2002
Rice Paper Plant (Tetrapanax papyriferus) Plant of the Week - March 4, 2002
What is a banana republic? What's in a Name? - November 30, 2001
How did flax preserve history? Plants that Changed History - April 29, 2003
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