Arachnothryx linguiformis
Synonym: Rondeletia linguiformis
Accumulation profile
- Substrate
- Ultramafic (ophiolitic serpentinite)
- Habitat
- Lowland to upland forest on ultramafic soils near Lago Izabal
- Distribution
- Guatemala (Sierra Santa Cruz, Juan de Paz)
- First reported
- 2024 · Disinger et al.
- Verification
- primary-measured
Description & ecology
Tall shrub newly identified as an obligate Ni hyperaccumulator from herbarium XRF screening (1200 to >16,000 mg kg⁻¹) and confirmed by field ICP-AES: leaf Ni ranged from 2,860 to 12,760 mg kg⁻¹ DW (Disinger et al. 2024, Ecological Research, open-access HAL deposit read at source).
All Guatemalan specimens exceeded the hyperaccumulator threshold; a single Chiapas (Mexico) specimen was below threshold, confirming the obligate, ultramafic-linked nature of the trait.
Formerly included in Rondeletia (Rubiaceae).
References
- Disinger, H. P., Navarrete Gutiérrez, D. M., Díaz Reyes, A. M., Rodas Duarte, R., Quezada, M. L., van der Ent, A., Baker, A. J. M., Echevarria, G., & Pollard, A. J. M. (2024). Herbarium and field studies of nickel hyperaccumulator plants from ultramafic soils in Guatemala. Ecological Research, 39, 838–851. doi:10.1111/1440-1703.12495
- 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