Rinorea niccolifera, a novel plant species possessing an unusual lifestyle has been discovered by researchers at the University of the Philippines, Los Baños. They have come up with the novel species, on the western part of Luzon Island in the Philippines, which eats metal i.e. nickel for living.
Edwino Fernando, lead-author of research, said that the newly discovered plant species eats up to 18,000 ppm of nickel in its leaves without experiencing harmful effects of the metal. Edwino said that only about 0.5% to 1% of plant species undergoes phenomenon of Nickel hyperaccumulation.
Only about 450 plant species are known to absorb unusually high levels of metal across the world compared to 300,000 species of vascular plants that do not absorb the metal in high levels.
Dr. Augustine Doronila, Prof. at the School of Chemistry, University of Melbourne, shared his views that Hyperacccumulator plants have great potentials for the development of green technologies like 'phytoremediation' and 'phytomining'.
Phytoremediation occurs when researchers use hyperacccumulator plants to suck up heavy metals from contaminated soil whereas in Phytomining plants collect commercially beneficial metals from the soil.
The plant species is most similar to the widespread Rinorea bengalensis by its fasciculate inflorescences and smooth subglobose fruits with three seeds. But, the difference between the two species lies in its glabrous ovary with shorter style, the summit of the staminal tube sinuate to entire and the outer surface smooth.
Source : http://newsmaine.net/19267-rinorea-niccolifera-plant-species-eats-18000-ppm-nickel
