Gutta-percha

Gutta-percha refers to trees of the genus Palaquium and the rigid natural latex produced from the sap of these trees, particularly from Palaquium gutta but also Isonandra gutta and Dichopsis gutta.

The word gutta-percha comes from the plant's name in Malay, getah perca, which translates as "percha sap".

Scientifically classified in 1843, it was found to be a useful natural thermoplastic. In 1851, 30,000 long cwt (1,500,000 kg) of gutta-percha was imported into England.

During the second half of the 19th century, gutta-percha was used for myriad domestic and industrial purposes, and it became a household word. In particular, it was needed as insulation for underwater telegraph cables, which, according to author John Tully, led to unsustainable harvesting and a collapse of the supply.

According to Harvey Wickes Felter and John Uri Lloyd's Endodontology: "Even long before Gutta-percha was introduced into the western world, it was used in a less processed form by the natives of the Malaysian archipelago for making knife handles, walking sticks and other purposes. The first European to discover this material was John Tradescant, who collected it in the far east in 1656. He named this material “Mazer wood”. Dr. William Montgomerie, a medical officer in Indian service, introduced gutta-percha into practical use in the West. He was the first to appreciate the potential of this material in medicine, and he was awarded the gold medal by the Royal society of arts, London in 1843."

Palaquium gutta trees are 5–30 m tall and up to 1 m in trunk diameter. The leaves are evergreen, alternate or spirally arranged, simple, entire, 8–25 cm long, glossy green above, and often yellow or glaucous below. The flowers are produced in small clusters along the stems, each flower with a white corolla with four to seven (mostly six) acute lobes. The fruit is an ovoid 3– to 7-cm berry, containing one to four seeds; in many species, the fruit is edible.

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