Gold leaf grows on trees: Study

SYDNEY - Agence France-Presse

Minuscule nuggets of gold are hidden inside the leaves of eucalyptus trees.

Australian researchers have found minuscule nuggets of gold hidden inside the leaves of eucalyptus trees, in a discovery they say could help prospectors discover new deposits of the precious metal.

Scientists from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) made the find in the resource-rich Kalgoorlie region of Western Australia, which was the site of a major gold rush in the late 1800s.

Geochemist Mel Lintern said it appeared the trees sucked up the gold particles from 30 meters below the ground through their roots. “The eucalypt acts as a hydraulic pump, its roots extend tens of metres into the ground and draw up water containing the gold,” he said.