A

Antidesma montis-silam Airy Shaw

Phyllanthaceae Tree

Accumulation profile

Ni Nickel Obligate
18,100 µg g⁻¹ DW
18.1× the nickel threshold
Other nickel accumulators →
Substrate
Ultramafic (serpentine)
Habitat
Primary mixed dipterocarp forest on ultramafic soil at the base of Mount Silam
Distribution
Malaysia (Sabah, Borneo)
First reported
2018 · Nkrumah et al.
Verification
primary-measured

Description & ecology

First Ni hyperaccumulator discovered in the genus Antidesma (Phyllanthaceae). Herbarium XRF screening reached 32,700 µg g⁻¹ Ni, but the confirmatory field collection and ICP-AES digestion gave leaf Ni up to 18,100 µg g⁻¹ DW (Nkrumah et al. 2018, Ecological Research 33:675–685, open-access HAL PDF read at source).

The herbarium XRF maximum (32,700) is noted but not used as the comparable foliar maximum because the field ICP-AES value is the measured confirmation.

Hyper-endemic to eastern Sabah; promising for tropical nickel agromining because of fast growth and high foliar Ni.

References

  1. Nkrumah, P. N., Echevarria, G., Erskine, P. D., & van der Ent, A. (2018). Nickel hyperaccumulation in Antidesma montis-silam: from herbarium discovery to collection in the native habitat. Ecological Research, 33, 675-685. doi:10.1007/s11284-017-1542-4
  2. Reeves, R. D., Baker, A. J. M., Jaffré, T., Erskine, P. D., Echevarria, G., & van der Ent, A. (2018). A global database for plants that hyperaccumulate metal and metalloid trace elements. New Phytologist, 218, 407–411. doi:10.1111/nph.14907

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