When scientist Alan Baker made a cut in the side of an exotic plant in the Philippines jungle, the sap that bled out had a jade-green glow.
The phloem sap of Phyllantus balgooyi. The green color is due to the high nickel concentration in the sap.
Photo: Antony van der Ent / (CC BY 4.0)
The shrub was a newly discovered species, soon to be known as Phyllanthus Balgooyi, one of a rare variety of plants that naturally suck high amounts of metallic elements from the soil.
The fluorescent sap turned out to be 9 percent nickel.
It was a welcome finding, but not a surprise, as Professor Baker s research into so-called hyperaccumulators had already uncovered species that seemed to thrive on everything from cobalt to zinc, and even gold.
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