Gutta-percha is a tree of the genus Palaquium in the family Sapotaceae. The name also refers to the rigid, naturally biologically inert, resilient, electrically nonconductive, thermoplastic latex derived from the tree, particularly from Palaquium gutta; it is a polymer of isoprene which forms a rubber-like elastomer.
Palaquium gutta
Gutta-percha tree
Cable manufacturing with gutta-percha at the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company in Greenwich, London, circa 1865
Members of a Kayan tribe in Borneo harvesting the sap of a gutta-percha tree c. 1910
Palaquium is a genus of about 120 species of trees in the family Sapotaceae. Their range is from India across Southeast Asia, Malesia, Papuasia, and Australasia, to the western Pacific Islands.
Palaquium