WI: World with Guayule Rubber

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]Hevea and guayule are the only two known plants that produce latex which can make commercial rubber. Structurally the two latex are essentially identical, however unlike Hevea trees which can only grow in the tropics, [/SIZE][/FONT]guayule is a desert shrub that thrives in semiarid climates.

In both world wars natural rubber had been critical to the war effort as a strategic materiel. One of the problems the Germans had in WWI was a severe shortage of rubber. By WWII rubber became even more important. When the Japanese took South East Asia they controlled nearly all of the world rubber production. At the time synthetic rubber was still experimental. Guayule was pressed into service, but the war ended before mass production could begin. Recently guayule has come under the spotlight again and the future looks bright for this valuable plant.

So what if guayule became a widespread rubber alternative to hevea? All you needed was semi-desert, that means previously unattractive territories now become more valuable. Under developed nations dependent on the major powers for rubber can now supply their own. Major powers now have less friction over rubber supplies, but wars of attrition between them are less constrained by rubber shortage.
 
You would need a POD in the 1800's when Britain sent an Agent into Brazil to smuggle out some Rubber Seeds. [IIRC a Capital Crime]

Perhaps He gets caught, and while they are preparing for another attempt, someone comes up with the Guayule Plant.

This would be planted in Africa [changes the Scramble for Africa] and Australia.
 
That white sap that you get when you tear a Dandelion Stalk is Latex, During WW2 attempts were made at using that sap to make artificial rubber.
 
That white sap that you get when you tear a Dandelion Stalk is Latex, During WW2 attempts were made at using that sap to make artificial rubber.

Likewise Golden Rod.

There are actually quite a few plants that produce latex, just not in usable volumes for commercial exploitation.
 
That white sap that you get when you tear a Dandelion Stalk is Latex, During WW2 attempts were made at using that sap to make artificial rubber.
There are over 2,000 species of latex bearing plants, but only two have been successfully made into commercial rubber. Guayule and hevea latex are molecularly similar and can be used in the same range of applications.
 
That white sap that you get when you tear a Dandelion Stalk is Latex, During WW2 attempts were made at using that sap to make artificial rubber.

I think I remember hearing somewhere that the Russians succeeded in using dandelions to make rubber for tank production during WWII
 
Top