A plant that stores nickel

Excessive amounts of nickel are toxic to virtually every living organism, but not to New Caledonia’s endemic species - Pycnandra acuminata. 

💧 This tree accumulates enormous amounts of nickel and produces a vivid green-blue latex of high purity. 

P. acuminata’s capabilities allow it to: 

• store 257,000 µg/g of nickel - the highest amount among all organisms, 

• accumulate up to 300 kg of nickel per hectare, 

• withstand nickel concentrations of 3,000 µM. 

✅ This low sensitivity to nickel stems from the presence of nickel citrate salts in the lactiferous tubes, which renders this element non-toxic to tissues. 

What exactly does this ability offer? ❓ 

It protects against pathogens and herbivores due to the toxicity of nickel.  

For us, however, it can serve as a source of knowledge about the bioremediation of sites contaminated with heavy metals. 🔎🔩