Gold Grows On Eucalyptus Trees (2013)
nationalgeographic.com
Gold Grows On Eucalyptus Trees (2013)
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Re: Gold Grows On Eucalyptus Trees (2013)
#2Re: Gold Grows On Eucalyptus Trees (2013)
#3Link to paper: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms3614. The underlying reason for this seems to be that Eucalyptus roots are unusually deep and aggressive (something I have personally witnessed), and any gold they pick up is toxic and gets transported to the leaves, where it can’t do as much harm.
Re: Gold Grows On Eucalyptus Trees (2013)
#4> Gold is probably toxic to plants
How so? It doesn’t react with anything.
Re: Gold Grows On Eucalyptus Trees (2013)
#5> Gold is probably toxic to plants How so? It doesn’t react with anything.
I'd hazard a guess that that is precisely why it's toxic to plants. It brings to mind things like Lead poisoning for us, because it takes the place of calcium in the body to horrific effect. And it just never really goes away. Meaning it doesn't really react with anything much, since that would reduce it over time. IIUC of course.
That said, I'm sure lead isn't the best example, since I am merely hazarding a guess right now.
For the Eucalyptus plant, sending the gold to the leaves is probably a good way to get the gold out of the way for more important nutrients to get where they need to go. Worst case scenario for the plant, it loses a few leaves. Which is something it already had to deal with before through Koala bears.
Re: Gold Grows On Eucalyptus Trees (2013)
#6> Gold is probably toxic to plants How so? It doesn’t react with anything.
Roots obviously don't pick up solid gold. Gold salts are toxic to biological systems.
Re: Gold Grows On Eucalyptus Trees (2013)
#7> Gold is probably toxic to plants How so? It doesn’t react with anything.
Thats not true. Gold won't patina but it can react with things. It can replace other metals in key enzymes which will inhibit their function. You can also use it as a catalyst both heterogeneous (as nanoparticles) and homogeneous (as an organometalic complex).
Re: Gold Grows On Eucalyptus Trees (2013)
#8Totally a tangent but as an Australian I'm amazed at how common eucalyptus trees are in California. They were introduced just 150 years ago and parts of California have denser eucalypt forest than Australia now. Which isn't good for California's bio diversity and given the flammability of eucalyptus is bad from a safety point of view too. There should be more of an effort to remove them.
Re: Gold Grows On Eucalyptus Trees (2013)
#9> Gold is probably toxic to plants How so? It doesn’t react with anything.
I'd hazard a guess that that is precisely why it's toxic to plants. It brings to mind things like Lead poisoning for us, because it takes the place of calcium in the body to horrific effect. And it just never really goes away. Meaning it doesn't really react with anything much, since that would reduce it over time. IIUC of course. That said, I'm sure lead isn't the best example, since I am merely hazarding a guess ri…
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Re: Gold Grows On Eucalyptus Trees (2013)
#10Totally a tangent but as an Australian I'm amazed at how common eucalyptus trees are in California. They were introduced just 150 years ago and parts of California have denser eucalypt forest than Australia now. Which isn't good for California's bio diversity and given the flammability of eucalyptus is bad from a safety point of view too. There should be more of an effort to remove them.
Useless anecdata: I grew up in Southern California and absolutely adore eucalyptus trees. The smell is wondrous.