REE

Rare Earth Elements

Hyperaccumulation threshold: 1,000 µg g⁻¹ ΣREE [ref] Primary

Rare earth element (lanthanides plus Y and Sc) hyperaccumulation is an emerging field led by ferns of the genus Dicranopteris and several Phytolacca species. A formal threshold is still being refined; a working cut-off of 1,000 µg g⁻¹ total REE is used here following the trace-element convention.

10 species recorded in this database; highest cited value 4,278 µg g⁻¹ ΣREE.

		Metal			Region	Uptake	Verify
Blechnopsis orientalisoriental blechnum	Blechnaceae	REE Rare Earth Elements	4,278	4.3×	China, Southeast Asia	Facultative	primary
Carya glabrapignut hickory	Juglandaceae	REE Rare Earth Elements	2,300	2.3×	USA (eastern)	Facultative	review
Carya tomentosamockernut hickory	Juglandaceae	REE Rare Earth Elements	1,350	1.4×	USA (eastern)	Facultative	hypothesized
Dicranopteris flexuosa	Gleicheniaceae	REE Rare Earth Elements	2,780	2.8×	Neotropics; USA-occurring (SE US / Florida, Puerto Rico)	Facultative	primary
Dicranopteris linearisold world forked fern	Gleicheniaceae	REE Rare Earth Elements	3,500	3.5×	South China, Southeast Asia	Obligate	primary
Gleichenella pectinata	Gleicheniaceae	REE Rare Earth Elements	1,447	1.4×	Neotropics; USA-occurring (Florida, Puerto Rico)	Facultative	primary
Phytolacca americanaAmerican pokeweed	Phytolaccaceae	REE Rare Earth Elements	1,040	1×	North America, naturalised in China	Facultative	primary
Pronephrium simplex	Thelypteridaceae	REE Rare Earth Elements	1,500	1.5×	South China	Facultative	hypothesized
Sticheropsis milnei	Gleicheniaceae	REE Rare Earth Elements	1,290	1.3×	Australasia (Papua New Guinea; described from Milne Bay material)	Facultative	primary
Sticherus flabellatusshiny fan-fern	Gleicheniaceae	REE Rare Earth Elements	1,130	1.1×	Australia (eastern)	Facultative	primary

Rare Earth Elements news & analysis

Research, industry and conservation context for Rare Earth Elements hyperaccumulation and phytoremediation.

Industry

REE phytomining only adds up if the biomass becomes the product, not the concentrate

August 21, 2026 · Huang, Xie, Rylott, van der Ent, Liu, Morel, Baker, Wang, Tang & Qiu (2026), Communications Earth & Environment

A new perspective argues that rare-earth phytomining becomes economically viable only when the harvested biomass is upcycled into fertilizers or catalysts rather than processed into separated rare-earth oxides — turning co-accumulated calcium, silicon and aluminium from impurities into ingredients.

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Industry

The other product of a rare-earth fern: carbonised Dicranopteris biomass locks lead, copper and cadmium into orchard soil

July 24, 2026 · Feng et al. (2026), Waste Management

The valuable output of a rare-earth phytomining crop may not be the metal you extract but the char you make from the leftover biomass, whose own accumulated La, Ce and Y appear to share in the work of locking up lead.

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