GOLD IN EUCALYPTUS TREE
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Angiosperms
Class: Dicots
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Eucalyptus
Species: Eucalyptus marginata
Eucalyptus could become a prospector's best friend: a team of researchers led by Melvyn Lintern of Australia's national science agency CSIRO, have proved that Eucalyptus tree leaves contain tiny gold particles drawn from deep underground. The study is published in Nature Communications.
The researchers found it on eucalyptus trees that are growing at the Freddo Gold Prospect in western Australia. This place has higher than average gold concentrations and it is undisturbed by mining. Eucalyptus trees, the researchers believe, are drawing gold from 35 meters below ground, then pushing it out to the leaves to reduce its poisonous effects.
The actual amount of gold in each leaf is negligible: the particles as so small that the leaves from 500 trees over a deposit would only be enough to make a wedding ring. But as gold discovery had dropped sharply over the past decade and new sites have become progressively more expensive to find, eucalyptus leaves could serve as a naturally occurring sample collector, bringing minerals from depths of over a hundred feet.
News Courtesy: http://www.theverge.com
Full Paper: http://www.nature.com
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