10 Dec Eucalyptus Trees and Gold: There’s a Connection

The age-old expression claims that money doesn’t grow on trees. While the idea of conserving your wealth and spending intelligently still resonates, there may need to be a factual addendum added to that statement. Recent evidence has shown that the Eucalyptus tree can actually “grow” gold particles in their leaves. Before you start planning your trip to the outback, you should know that this isn’t a form of alchemy. The gold isn’t being synthesized by the trees but being transported from the ground bellow. Although there may not be any practical benefit for those who just want to walk on by and pluck from the foliage, there can be a significantly large reward hiding beneath the surface. Waiting, ready to be mined out for global consumption.

The Science:

It’s interesting that scientists have discovered the deposits of gold within the leaves of the plant due to the toxic nature of the element. Gold, in high-enough quantities, can poison the plant and eventually kill it. However, it’s probably why the plant transports the gold into the trees. Scientists speculate that the deep root system of the tree (which can reach up to 40 feet deep!) transport the gold from the ground– where it could do the most damage amongst the rest of the nutrients– to the leaves which have the least impact on the rest of the tree’s health. The mechanism isn’t fully understood yet since this phenomenon has been only recently uncovered. However, it doesn’t need to be fully understood for the practical benefits.

Mining:

Although it wouldn’t be much worth to mine the gold out of the leaves, analyzing the content of the leaves could potentially lead speculators to significant deposits of gold. Since the world’s demand for the precious metal continues to rise with new technology and a surging global population, the world needs a steady supply of gold to keep up with the demand. Since the discovery of new deposits is at a relative lull right now, an easy way to identify potential gold deposits is itself, in high demand. Now it seems that nature is giving us indicators to where we can find new deposits in Australia.

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