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Can Gold Grow on Trees?

While we know that money can’t grow on trees, it’s definitely surprising to know that gold can. But how does that happen?

Gold can actually grow on trees, as confirmed by Australian researchers. This phenomenon happens when a deep rooted tree absorbs the gold through a biochemical process. The mineral then gets deposited into the tree’s barks, branches, and leaves.

How Does Gold Grow on Trees?

Australian researchers have found nanoparticles of gold in Eucalyptus trees. The tree’s roots go about 130 feet deep underground to search for a water source. In the process, the roots biochemically absorbs the gold.

The researchers compared the leaves from Eucalyptus trees at gold prospecting sites in Australia with the leaves from trees that were located 2,600 feet away. They also compared their data with trees they had in greenhouses with soil that have been potted with gold particles. (Source: National Geographic)

What Were the Results of the Experiment?

They found out that the leaves stored microscopic particles of gold. The researchers were able to prove that the particles came from underground. They sampled about 20 leaves from each tree to have a valid comparative analysis. (Source: National Geographic)

Gold is probably toxic to plants and is moved to its extremities, such as leaves or in preferential zones within cells in order to reduce deleterious biochemical reaction.

Australian Researchers

How Much Leaves Do You Need to Make A Whole Gold Bar?

While there are gold particles in the leaves, this doesn’t mean you can readily exchange them for cash. The average concentration of gold in a single leaf is about 46 parts per billion. Basically, less than 0.000005% of each leaf by its overall weight. So you can’t make a gold bar out of these leaves. (Source: National Geographic)

How Can Gold Eucalyptus Trees Help Us?

These trees will allow us to know where gold deposits are. This information will be incredibly beneficial to gold miners. It will also save them a lot on drilling tests. (Source: National Geographic)

Mineral exploration will benefit by embracing and understanding.

Australian Researchers

Can Other Kinds of Trees Do The Same?

Researchers have studied if other vegetation can pull gold from the soil. But there wasn’t clear evidence of this happening. In most cases, it seemed like the nanoparticles got stuck to the leaves as dust.

The Australian research showed that the gold particles were not only on the leaves, but on the twigs and barks as well. Though there could be several reasons why the Eucalyptus tree is the only one proven to do so. (Source: Science Magazine)

Is This a New Discovery?

Thanks to modern technology, it was easier for the researchers of today to prove this claim. But this was not the first we’ve heard of it. In the 1900s, a Brooklyn inventor and scientist by the name of Emil Lungwitz wrote a paper on gold deposits in vegetation. Other researchers have confirmed his claim in the 50s and 60s.

Technically, the ability of plants to absorb gold is not new information. What is new is the data gathered on how the gold actually got to the plants. (Source: Tales by Trees)

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