Phyllanthus balgooyi
| Phyllanthus balgooyi | |
|---|---|
| |
| A branch of Phyllantus balgooyi | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malpighiales |
| Family: | Phyllanthaceae |
| Genus: | Phyllanthus |
| Species: | P. balgooyi
|
| Binomial name | |
| Phyllanthus balgooyi Petra Hoffm. & A.J.M. Baker
| |
Phyllanthus balgooyi is an herbaceous plant in the family
Distribution
Phyllanthus balgooyi is found in perhumid equatorial rainforests[1] in Palawan, Philippines and in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, with the plant preferring open habitats such as mountain ridges and river banks, where it could become dominant.[2][3][4] Where it is found, P. balgooyi are typically isolated individuals.[2] The soil where the species grows originated from serpentinised ultramafic bedrock, which is rich in metals such as nickel, cobalt and manganese.[1] P. balgooyi is described as "widespread and locally common" in its habitat, in contrast to other Phyllanthus species which are typically restricted to several outcrops.[5]
The plant's earliest specimen was acquired in Palawan in 1886, though it was initially classified as a different species. It was first described in 2003,[6] and was named after Dutch florist M.M.J. van Balgooy.[2]
Description
The plant appears as
The size of P. balgooyi varies depending on location, with populations in the Philippines being shorter than 1.5 meters while a specimen in Sabah was recorded to be 9 meters[8] high, and researchers have proposed the separation of the species into multiple subspecies depending on morphology and ecology.[9] Typically, however, specimens appear as shrubs.[8]
Bioaccumulation
P. balgooyi is a
The plant's sap is notable for being of a bright green color due to the high nickel content, with up to 16.9% nickel by weight and the sap is described as "one of the most unusual biological liquids".[6][1] This figure is the second highest recorded concentration of nickel of any living material, behind a 25% figure for a Pycnandra acuminata sample from New Caledonia.[13] Due to its bioaccumulation capabilities, P. balgooyi has been brought forward as a potential candidate for phytomining (i.e. extracting metals from plants), to be utilized in soils where the nickel concentration is too low for commercial mining operations.[14]
It was proposed that the accumulation of nickel to toxic levels was a defense mechanism against insects feeding on the sap, though Poaphilini moths have been observed to consume P. balgooyi leaves – the insects utilize the concentrated nickel for their own defensive mechanism against predators.[15] P. balgooyi's shed leaves also increase the concentration of nickel in the topsoil surrounding the plant, benefiting its seedlings while increasing the difficulty for competing seedlings of non-hyperaccumulating plants.[16]
References
- ^ a b c van der Ent et al. 2017, p. 2.
- ^ a b c Hoffmann et al. 2003, p. 198.
- ^ "Phyllanthus balgooyi". plantsoftheworldonline.org. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
- ^ van der Ent, Erskine & Sumail 2015, p. 246.
- ^ a b van der Ent, Erskine & Sumail 2015, p. 249.
- ^ a b Hoffmann et al. 2003, p. 193.
- ^ a b Hoffmann et al. 2003, pp. 195–197.
- ^ a b c van der Ent, Erskine & Sumail 2015, p. 247.
- ^ Mesjasz-Przybylowicz et al. 2016, pp. 1514–1516.
- ^ van der Ent et al. 2017, p. 7.
- ^ van der Ent et al. 2017, p. 3.
- ^ Mesjasz-Przybylowicz et al. 2016, p. 1520.
- ^ Mesjasz-Przybylowicz et al. 2016, p. 1513.
- .
- ^ van der Ent, Erskine & Sumail 2015, pp. 255–256.
- ^ van der Ent, Erskine & Sumail 2015, p. 254.
Bibliography
- Hoffmann, Petra; Baker, Alan J.M.; Madulid, Domingo A.; Proctor, John (2003). "Phyllanthus balgooyi (Euphorbiaceae s.l.), a new nickel-hyperaccumulating species from Palawan and Sabah". Blumea. 48 (1): 193–199. .
- Mesjasz-Przybylowicz, Jolanta; Przybylowicz, Wojciech; Barnabas, Alban; van der Ent, Antony (2016). "Extreme nickel hyperaccumulation in the vascular tracts of the tree from Borneo" (PDF). New Phytologist. 209 (4): 1513–1526. PMID 26508435.
- van der Ent, Antony; Erskine, Peter; Sumail, Sukaibin (2015). "Ecology of nickel hyperaccumulator plants from ultramafic soils in Sabah (Malaysia)". Chemoecology. 25 (5): 243–259. S2CID 15674208.
- van der Ent, Antony; Callahan, Damien L.; Noller, Barry N.; Mesjasz-Przybylowicz, Jolanta; Przybylowicz, Wojciech J.; Barnabas, Alban; Harris, Hugh H. (2017). "Nickel biopathways in tropical nickel hyperaccumulating trees from Sabah (Malaysia)". Scientific Reports. 7 (1): 41861. PMID 28205587.