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Scientists Discover Nickel-Eating Plant Species

Posted by samzenpus on from the what's-for-dessert? dept.

An anonymous reader writes "A new species of metal-eating plant has been discovered in the Philippines, and the plant loves to eat nickel. From the article: 'Scientists from the University of the Philippines, Los Baños have discovered Rinorea niccolifera, a plant species that accumulates up to 18,000 ppm of the metal in its leaves without poisoning itself, according to Edwino Fernando, lead author of the report and professor, said in a statement. Fernando and his team say that the hyper-accumulation of nickel is a very rare phenomenon, with only about 0.5 percent to 1 percent of plant species native to environments with nickel-rich soil.'"

3 of 57 comments (clear)

  1. Marijuana has been eating my nickels by retroworks · · Score: 4, Funny

    And my 50 dollar bills.

    --
    Gently reply
    1. Re:Marijuana has been eating my nickels by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yes, but you get them back later as "dime bags".

  2. Lead author? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Weren't we talking about nickel? I'm confused...