Extraction of latex from a tree, for use in rubber production

Latex is the stable dispersion (emulsion) of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium. Latexes may be natural or synthetic.

Latex as found in nature is a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants (angiosperms).^[1] It is a complex emulsion consisting of proteins, alkaloids, starches, sugars, oils, tannins, resins, and gums that coagulates on exposure to air. It is usually exuded after tissue injury. In most plants, latex is white, but some have yellow, orange, or scarlet latex. Since the 17th century, latex has been used as a term for the fluid substance in plants.^[2] It serves mainly as defense against herbivorous insects.^[1] Many people are allergic to latex.

The word is also used to refer to natural latex rubber; particularly for non-vulcanized rubber. Such is the case in products like latex gloves, latex condoms and latex clothing.

It can also be made synthetically by polymerizing a monomer such as styrene that has been emulsified with surfactants.

Biology[link]

Articulated Laticifers[link]

The cells (laticifers) in which latex is found make up the laticiferous system, which can form in two very different ways. In many plants, the laticiferous system is formed from rows of cells laid down in the meristem of the stem or root. The cell walls between these cells are dissolved so that continuous tubes, called latex vessels, are formed. Since these vessels are made of many cells, they are known as articulated laticifers. This method of formation is found in the poppy family, in the rubber trees (Para rubber tree and Castilla elastica), and in the Cichorieae, a clade in the Family Asteraceae distinguished by the presence of latex in its members. It is also found in Taraxacum kok-saghyz.^[3] It is also present in another member of the Asteraceae, the guayule plant.

Non-articulated Laticifers[link]

In the milkweed and spurge families, on the other hand, the laticiferous system is formed quite differently. Early in the development of the seedling latex cells differentiate, and as the plant grows these latex cells grow into a branching system extending throughout the plant. In many euphorbs, the entire structure is made from a single cell - this type of system is known as a non-articulated laticifer, to distinguish it from the multi-cellular structures discussed above. In the mature plant, the entire laticiferous system is descended from a single cell or group of cells present in the embryo.

The laticiferous system is present in all parts of the mature plant, including roots, stems, leaves, and sometimes the fruits. It is particularly noticeable in the cortical tissues. Latex is usually exuded as a white liquid, but is some cases it can be clear, yellow or red, as in Cannabaceae.^[1]

Productive species[link]

Latex is produced by 20,000 species from over 40 families occurring in multiple lineages in both dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous of plant. It is also found in conifers and pteridophytes. Several members of the fungal kingdom also produce latex upon injury, such as Lactarius deliciosus and other milk-caps. This suggests it is the product of convergent evolution and has been selected for on many separate occasions.^[1]

14% of tropical plant species create latex, as opposed to 6% of temperate plant species.^[4]

Defense function[link]

Rubber latex

Latex functions to protect the plant from herbivores. The idea was first proposed in 1887 by Joseph F. James who noted that latex

“. . . carries with it at the same time such disagreeable properties that it becomes a better protection to the plant from enemies than all the thorns, prickles, or hairs that could be provided. In this plant, so copious and so distasteful has the sap become that it serves a most important purpose in its economy.”^[5]

Evidence showing this defense function include the finding that slugs will eat leaves drained of their latex but not intact ones, that many insects sever the veins carrying latex before they feed, and that the latex of Asclepias humistrata (sandhill milkweed) kills by trapping 30% of newly hatched monarch butterfly caterpillars.^[1]

Other evidence is that latex contains 50–1000 higher concentrations of defense substances than other plant tissues. These toxins include ones that are also toxic to the plant and consist of a diverse range of chemicals that are either poisonous or "antinutritive". Latex is actively moved to the area of injury; in the case of Cryptostegia grandiflora, this can be more than 70 cm.^[1]

The clotting property of latex is functional in this defense since it limits wastage and its stickiness traps insects and their mouthparts.^[1]

It has been noted that while there exist other explanations for the existence of latex including storage and movement of plant nutrients, waste, and maintenance of water balance that "Essentially none of these functions remain credible and none have any empirical support."^[1]

Synthetic latices[link]

Examples of synthetic latexes are styrene-butadiene rubber, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, acrylic polymers, polyvinyl acetate.

Uses of latex[link]

Opium poppy exuding fresh latex from a cut

The latex of many species can be processed to produce many materials.

Natural rubber is the most important product obtained from latex; more than 12,000 plant species yield latex containing rubber, though in the vast majority of those species the rubber is not suitable for commercial use.^[6] This latex is used to make many other products as well, including mattresses, gloves, swim caps, condoms, catheters and balloons.

Balatá and gutta percha latex contain an inelastic polymer related to rubber.

Latex from the chicle and jelutong trees is used in chewing gum.

Dried latex from the opium poppy is opium, the source of many useful opiates and other alkaloids of high value.

Synthetic latexes are used in coatings (e.g. latex paint) and glues because they solidify by coalescence of the polymer particles as the water evaporates, and therefore can form films without releasing potentially toxic organic solvents in the environment. Other uses include cement additives. Latex, usually styrene based, is also used in immunoassays.

Latex is used to conceal information on scratchcards

Latex clothing[link]

Latex is used in many types of clothing. Worn on the body (or applied directly by painting) it tends to be skin-tight, producing a "second skin" effect.

Allergic reactions[link]

Some people have a serious latex allergy, and exposure to latex products such as latex gloves can cause anaphylactic shock. Guayule latex is hypoallergenic and is being researched as a substitute to the allergy-inducing Hevea latexes. Additionally, chemical processes may be employed to reduce the amount of antigenic protein in Hevea latex, yielding alternative materials such as Vytex Natural Rubber Latex which provide significantly reduced exposure to latex allergens.

Many people with spina bifida are also allergic to natural latex rubber, as well as people who have had multiple surgeries, and people who have had prolonged exposure to natural latex.

See also[link]

• Plant sap
• Rubber

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Latex

Bianca Beauchamp
Born	Bianca Stéphanie Beauchamp (1977-10-14) October 14, 1977 (age 34)[1] Montreal, Quebec, Canada[1]
Ethnicity	French Canadian, Italian[1]
Occupation	Model
Years active	1998–present
Height	5 ft 2 in (1.57 m)
Measurements	32FF[1]-25-35 in
Weight	115 lb (52 kg; 8.2 st)
Website
http://www.biancabeauchamp.com

Bianca Stéphanie Beauchamp (born October 14, 1977) is a Canadian fetish and adult model, known for her glamour, erotic^[2] and latex modelling.

Early life and education[link]

Beauchamp was born in Montreal, Quebec to a French Canadian father and an Italian mother. She was named after Bianca Jagger.^[1] Growing up in the poverty-stricken neighbourhood of Montreal's Cartier district,^[3] Beauchamp managed to pass the entrance exam for an exclusive private school. She realised that she was bisexual at the age of 15.^[2] After having difficulty at home, she moved away soon after graduating high school, and began a course in French literature at CEGEP, hoping to become a high-school French teacher. After achieving her certificate, she began studying French and teaching at the University of Quebec.^[4]

Beauchamp had met her future husband, aspiring photographer Martin Perreault at the age of 17. Perreault convinced her to pose for photographs as his muse, and she began modelling for him. She bought her first latex dress at the age of 18.^[5]

In 1998, Beauchamp and Perreault founded the website Latex Lair. During a teaching internship at her old high-school, one of the staff discovered the website and advised her to shut it down (although at the time it contained no nudity), which she did. However she re-opened the site after completing the internship, prompting the university to threaten to fail her if it remained on-line during her remaining internships. Beauchamp realised her passion for modelling outweighed that for teaching, therefore she left university at the age of 23 to pursue her modelling career.^[6]

Modelling career[link]

Beauchamp soon appeared in photoshoots for Bizarre, Heavy Rubber, Marquis, Nightlife, Penthouse, Playboy, Skin Two, and Whiplash,^[6] working at McDonald's, a video store, a sex shop and as a strip-club waitress while establishing her career.^[2]

In January 2007, Beauchamp became the first model to appear on the front cover of Bizarre magazine six times,^[7][8] and later in the same year represented Hype Energy at the 2007 Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix.^[6] Her photos have also been in several Playboy Special Editions and on the cover of Book of Lingerie. She has also been on the cover of Playboy's Girls of Canada calendar twice. In partnership with her website and Ritual Entertainment, she portrayed the character Elexis Sinclaire for the video game, SiN Episodes.

In January 2008, Beauchamp was named 31st in Askmen.com's Top 99 Women of the Year, a popular "Hot List" for celebrities.^[9] The following year, she improved her ranking to 24th.^[10] In January 2009, she appeared on the cover of Bizarre magazine, her 9th cover for the UK magazine, confirming her lead as the model who appeared the most times on Bizarre.^[11][12]

Breast surgery[link]

Soon after deciding to focus on modelling, Beauchamp began a fitness regime in order to stay in shape. When this caused her breasts to sag, she made the decision to undergo breast augmentation surgery,^[6] increasing her cup size from a 32C to a 34D. After a year, finding the saline implants unsatisfactory, she underwent surgery a second time, getting slightly bigger silicone implants and increasing her cup size to 32DD.^[2] In 2009 Beauchamp went for an additional breast surgery, this time increasing the silicone implants to 800cc and her cup size 32FF.^[1][13][14] She dismisses criticism about the implants, deeming it hypocritical to applaud people for improving their intellects while condemning them for improving their bodies.^[15]

Books and film[link]

Bianca Beauchamp (right) dressed as Elexis Sinclaire with Niais Nice and Cindy Synnett at E3 2006

In 2006, Beauchamp released the self-published book Bianca Beauchamp – Fetish Sex Symbol which focuses on her modelling career as a latex fetish model.^[16][17]

In 2007, she released her film Bianca Beauchamp: All Access, a reality-documentary directed and edited by her partner Martin Perreault. The 85 minute film was Premiered at Fantasia Film Festival in July 2007 and issued as a 2-disc Special Edition DVD in September 2007.^[18][19] The film was acquired by distributor HALO 8 Entertainment at the Fantasia Festival and is slated for a wide release in North America on January 29, 2008.^[20]

In August 2008, Beauchamp premiered Bianca Beauchamp All Access 2: Rubberized at the Montreal Fetish Weekend, with full red carpet treatment and a sold out theater.^[21][22][23] The DVD was released the same day.

See also[link]

• Latex clothing
• Fetish photography
• Fetish model
• Latex and PVC fetishism

References[link]

External links[link]

Find more about Bianca Beauchamp on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Images and media from Commons

• Official website
• Her other official website
• Bianca Beauchamp on Twitter
• Bianca Beauchamp at the Internet Adult Film Database