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Glite Dictionary
Palaquium gutta

Palaquium gutta

9.9
A tropical Southeast Asian tree that makes a hard natural sap used like rubber
  • noun
  • Specialized
: Palaquium gutta
  • The latex extracted from the Palaquium gutta tree was once widely used in electrical insulation.

Examples

  • The natural habitat of Palaquium gutta includes the lowland rainforests of Southeast Asia.

  • Botanists studied the Palaquium gutta to understand how gutta-percha is produced.

  • The Palaquium gutta tree is known for its valuable latex.

  • Many artisans use Palaquium gutta for making crafts.

  • Researchers are exploring the uses of Palaquium gutta in eco-friendly products made from gutta-percha.

  • The Palaquium gutta tree thrives in the humid conditions of tropical Southeast Asia, where it produces valuable latex.

  • Craftsmen often turn to Palaquium gutta for its high-quality latex used in various traditional items.

Synonyms

gutta-percha tree
vsPalaquium gutta
  • Specialized
9.9

A tropical tree from Southeast Asia that makes a thick rubbery sap used in industry

is a specific Southeast Asian species producing named local varieties of that substance

Surface Forms

Palaquium gutta singular
Palaquium guttas plural

Morphology

Palaquium + gutta

The first element 'Palaquium' names a genus of trees, so a learner who knows that would infer this is a kind of tree; however 'gutta' is not an English lexical item here (and the species epithet is Latin), so its contribution to the specific meaning (a tree that yields gutta‑percha) is not predictable. Because the genus signals the broad category but the specific property and product are not recoverable from the constituents by a B1 learner, the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Palaquium gutta is the botanical name for a tropical tree that yields the rubber-like material called 'gutta-percha'. The word gutta means 'drop' in Latin, pointing to the drops of 'sap' the tree produces, and that sap is why the tree has this name.