Cleaning Up Toxic Waste With Plants

Category(-ies): Novel Uses of Plants

Phytoremediation is a relatively new science aimed at cleaning up pollutants or solving other environmental problems using plants.

Recent research in Washington utilizing genetically-modified poplars showed a 30-fold increase in the removal of trichloroethylene (TCE) from a liquid solution. See: Plants tricked into cleaning up toxins – Reuters

Thanks to David Brownstein for sending along the link!

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:23 PM

WWF: New Species Found in Vietnam

Category(-ies): Plant Discoveries

The World Wide Fund for Nature (aka World Wildlife Fund in Canada and USA) recently announced the discovery of eleven new species in the Thua Thien Hue province of central Vietnam (also known as the “Green Corridor”). Among the eleven new species are seven kinds of plants: five orchids, one member of the arum family and an Aspidistra species.

New Species Found in Vietnam's Green Corridor news release from WWF

National Geographic has details about some of the plants, including photographs: Gastrodia theana, Saccolabiopsis viridiflora, Anoectochilus annamenis and Aspidistra nicolai.

Thank you to Stannous F of San Francisco and Stephanie K of Vancouver for submitting this story within minutes of each other!

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 4:40 PM