Trees in the Rain Forest That Produce Chewing Gum

About the Sapodilla Tree

• The sapodilla tree cannot withstand cold temperatures, and as a result, only grows naturally in the rainforest. It is a common feature of the Yucatan Peninsula. The tree flowers several times a year and is pollinated by bats. It grows slowly, and typically needs four to eight years of rest between being tapped for its resin. It is known to be wind-resistant, which is important, as it can reach heights of 100 feet.

Early Gum Production

• The first people who were documented to chew the gum of the sapodilla tree were the Mayans and Aztecs in Central America. They cut the bark to drain and collect the resign. The Mayan and Aztecs chewed it to quench their thirst, and sometimes, perhaps, out of boredom. It is also believed that the Aztec prostitutes snapped the gum to indicate the availability of their services to those who passed by.

The Invention of Modern Gum

• The resin produced by the sapodilla tree was later named chicle. The Mexican general Santa Ana was exiled to Staten Island after the Alamo. There, he chewed chicle to relieve his stress. Thomas Adams learned of chicle through Santa Ana and eventually flattened it, coated it with sugar, and sold it to a candy store in Brooklyn. As a result, Adams is considered the inventor of modern chewing gum. The United States would continue importing chicle to make gum until the 1860s.

Beyond the Sapodilla Tree

• Eventually, the demand for chicle outpaced what the sapodilla trees in the rainforest could produce. As a result, gum manufacturers began to look for synthetic alternatives in the middle of the 19th century. Paraffin was the first synthetic product used, as it was colorless and odorless. In the 1960s chicle was completely replaced by a butadiene-based synthetic rubber that was less expensive to produce. Today, more advanced formulas of man-made latex are used.