Dandelion that oozes milky fluid when root is broken poised to help ease country’s import reliance
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenZhang Tongin BeijingPublished: 4:00pm, 3 Aug 2026Chinese scientists have turned a dandelion-like weed into natural rubber, a step that could help cut China’s heavy reliance on imported rubber.
But when its root is broken, it oozes a milky fluid that is natural rubber.
The weed is known as the rubber dandelion, or Taraxacum kok-saghyz.
Last month, researchers in Xinjiang harvested one tonne of dried roots from a 20-mu (about 1.3-hectare) test field and extracted 40kg (88lbs) of natural rubber.
