P

Pteris vittata L.

Chinese brake fern

Pteridaceae Fern

Accumulation profile

As Arsenic Obligate
22,630 µg g⁻¹ DW
22.6× the arsenic threshold
Other arsenic accumulators →
Substrate
Arsenic-contaminated and calcareous soils
Habitat
Walls, disturbed and contaminated ground
Distribution
Pantropical and subtropical
First reported
2001 · Ma et al.
Verification
primary-measured

Description & ecology

The first arsenic hyperaccumulator ever described (Nature, 2001), with frond arsenic above 2% dry weight, and now the central species of arsenic phytoremediation.

References

  1. Ma, L. Q., Komar, K. M., Tu, C., Zhang, W., Cai, Y., & Kennelley, E. D. (2001). A fern that hyperaccumulates arsenic. Nature, 409, 579. doi:10.1038/35054664
  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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