Posted August 01, 2018
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Ipomoea alba at our Maya Research garden. Photo taken with a Nikon D5, natural light, no flash, Gitzo tripod, 6:15pm, August 1. 2018. These "morning glory" flowers bloom at night so they are called Moonflowers (by the next day they look wilted before noon time)
Latex sap from native Mayan rubber tree (Castilla elastica) does not bounce until it is vulcanized. So the Maya game balls would not bounce until the rubber they are made from is vulcanized.
The Olmec already developed vulcanization over 3000 years ago! The Maya (and all their neighbors) had several different plants (mostly vines) which produce sulfur. Simply add the juice from these vines (when squeezed), add it to latex, heat it, and your rubber is ready to bounce.
We raise two of the different kinds of vines which have this sulfur content. Last night the Ipomoea alba bloomed at about 6:18pm (this is why a member of the morning glory genus is called a Moonflower).
Here are four different parts of the opening sequence to enjoy looking at.
