Pycnandra acuminata
Synonym: Sebertia acuminata
Accumulation profile
- Substrate
- Ultramafic (serpentine)
- Habitat
- Ultramafic rainforest
- Distribution
- New Caledonia
- First reported
- 1976 · Jaffré et al.
- Verification
- primary-measured
Description & ecology
The original 'blue-green latex' nickel tree: its sap contains extraordinary nickel (25.74% Ni in dried latex, 11.20% Ni in wet latex), while leaf dry weight reaches 1.17% (11,700 µg g⁻¹).
Promoted and corrected 2026-08-23: Jaffré et al. (1976, Science 193:579–580, Table I, read at source via IRD Horizon) report leaf Ni at 1.17% DW. The previous note conflated wet-weight latex (~11%) with dry-weight latex (~25.7%).
Endemic to New Caledonian ultramafic rainforest and of conservation concern.
References
- Jaffré, T., Brooks, R. R., Lee, J., & Reeves, R. D. (1976). Sebertia acuminata: a hyperaccumulator of nickel from New Caledonia. Science, 193, 579–580. doi:10.1126/science.193.4253.579
- 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