Rubber from Dandelions

Ken Fern, author of Plants for a Future, was the first writer to open my eyes to the many uses of plants. Although I was interested to learn what plants were best for basket making, insect repellents and candles, I was absolutely astounded to discover that the tropical rubber tree was not the only plant that produces latex. On his website Plants For a Future [1], Fern lists over 60 species (!) that grow in temperate climates that have produce potentially useful amounts of latex, including various dandelions, milkweeds, thistle and ground nuts.

I tucked that info in the back of my mind, only to come across it again and again in various other readings about edible. medicinal, and useful plants. Apparently dandelion, our ubiquitous friend, was cultivated in Poland during World War II. The Germans took over production after invading. (from Wild Foods and Useful Plants by Christopher Nyerges).

With that in mind, I began my search on turning dandelion (and other temperate plants) into tires (and other useful rubber products). The first webpage I opened on this topic [2] gave the extra inspiration I needed to start this page. According to the article, Ohio State University received a $3 million grant to "start turning dandelions into rubber."

This seems absurd to me, considering rubber production from dandelions has been viable AT LEAST since world war II. Granted, according to the same article, "Ohio State researchers plan to work to raise the performance of the TKS [a species that produces higher rubber content than the average dandelion] crop even higher through improved growing and harvesting methods and, eventually, genetic manipulation."

I believe this technology should be developed by the people and for the people. Dandelion is a remarkable plant which Nyerges claims is called the "Poor man's Ginseng". The leaves and roots have numerous health and nutritional benefits. When a plant is "genetically manipulated", whether through intensive breeding programs or through genetic engineering, its wholeness is lost. I'm not sure at this point whether the TKS (Taraxacum kok-saghyz) Russian dandelion species was bred or naturally occuring. However, according to the Plants for a Future edibility and medicinal ratings, TKS scores a meager 1 out of 5 for edibility and 0 of 5 for medicinal properties. Taraxacum officinale the common dandelion scores 4 and 3 respectively.

What's the big deal? According to Nyerges, the officinale species has 16-17 percent dry weight rubber (I think he means latex). The TKS species has 20 percent. From my perspective, the common dandelion produces nearly as much latex as TKS; its many other benefits nutritionally and medicinally make up for any reduction in latex production. This diversity should be seen as a benefit.

According to the business-opportunities website, "the U.S. spends more than $3 billion a year to import natural rubber – 80 percent of which is used in tires (most notably, trucking, construction and aviation tires)." This is inspiration enough that the rubber needs of a local community (village) can and should be produced locally.

The goal here is to provide practical information and plans for making local rubber.

== History and Resources on Rubber Produced in Temperate Climates ==

Temperate Climate Plants that Produce Latex and an Evaluation of their Practical and Ecological Use in Rubber Making.

== How to Convert Latex into Rubber ==

== Chemistry of Rubber and Rubber Products ==