What was the coup of Kew?
By Chelsie Vandaveer
September 17, 2002
killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~
Suggested Reading: Click here.
By the mid to late 1800s, South American countries found themselves in control of an ever-increasing demand for caoutchouc [kow' chuk], the latex of the Para tree (Hevea brasiliensis (Willdenow ex A. Jussieu) Müller Aargau). The wealthy controlled latex export. Collecting and transporting latex out of the rainforests was a logistical nightmare, but they had blacks and natives as slaves.
Sir Clements Markham of the British India Office recognized the potential for rubber plantations outside of South America. Markham asked James Collins of the Pharmaceutical Society to undertake a feasibility study for plantations in India and Malaysia.
Sir Joseph Hooker, the Director of Kew, read Collins's report and commissioned Henry Wickham to collect Para rubber tree seeds for the Garden. Markham perhaps understanding the political climate of South America sent a backup, Robert Cross, in case Wickham should fail. (See Plants that Changed History, September 10, 2002)
It is not known whether any specific laws in South America forbid the exportation of Para tree seeds. Certainly the wealthy and the governments would have frowned on the attempt to steal their trees.
It is believed that Wickham managed to export the seeds under the pretense that the ship would be loaded with botanical specimens for Kew. The Bill of Entry at the Customs Office in Liverpool stated that "819 bags Para nuts" arrived on June 12, 1876. At Kew, only 2400 of Wickham's seeds germinated.
Robert Cross returned to England in November 1876 with 1080 seedlings of the Para rubber tree. No one is certain what happened to his seedlings. The story of Robert Cross and his Para trees appears to end.
By the end of 1877, Kew shipped over three thousand seedlings to India, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Singapore. Wickham received the credit, but with all the propagation of rubber trees taking place at Kew, perhaps Robert Cross's contribution was simply forgotten.
The Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has posted a photograph of a rubber plantation taken by D.S. Seigler. To view the photograph, click on the link:
http://www.life.uiuc.edu/plantbio/digitalflowers/Euphorbiaceae/20.htm
killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~
Suggested Reading:
How was rubber first used? Plants that Changed History - August 27, 2002
How did rubber trees make a knight? Plants that Changed History - September 10, 2002
How is rubber dependent on a pest? Renfield's Garden - September 11, 2002
How did rubber shape women's lives? Plants that Changed History - September 3, 2002
How did the rubber tree change war? Plants that Changed History - September 24, 2002
Why was rubber a military priority? Plants that Changed History - October 1, 2002
What is Napalm? Plants that Changed History - October 8, 2002
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