Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

Original title: "have you ever seen the grass that" eats "copper? "

In some adventure novels, horror movies or cartoons, we often see cannibalism. Once someone or an animal approaches it, it will be wrapped up and instantly become a pile of bones. Of course, the question of whether cannibalism exists remains to be studied. What we want to talk about today is a real plant that "eats" copper. This plant has high copper content in its roots, stems and leaves, and it has a magical name called "toothbrush grass".

Toothbrush grass does not brush teeth in the mountain field, there is such a plant, about one meter long, only blossoms on one side, the flower is purplish red, because its shape is long and narrow serrated like a toothbrush, it is commonly known as toothbrush grass. Don't get me wrong, toothbrush grass is not used for brushing teeth, but it is much more useful than brushing teeth. You have no idea, its real use is actually looking for copper, so it is also known as "copper grass". There is also a folk proverb: "toothbrush grass, purple flowers, where there is copper, there is it."

Copper grass is not afraid of "copper poison" scouts, so how was it discovered? It starts in the autumn of 1951. While exploring in Yueshan, Anqing, a geochemist named Xie Xuejin accidentally found clusters of purple flowers growing on the waste copper mine, but there were no other flowers and plants. We know that although copper is one of the essential trace elements for plant growth and development, because most plants are sensitive to it, the absorption of copper can cause toxicity once it exceeds the normal amount. Excessive copper ions often cause plants to grow slowly or stop growing, or even die. So why is it that only this kind of purple flower can bloom proudly despite copper poison? Later, after discussion by several scientists, Xie Xuejin and Xu Bangliang burned the roots, stems and leaves of this grass to ash and found that its roots contained the highest copper, 0.5% and 3.0%. Because of its high copper content and its ability to serve as a guide to copper mines, they named this plant copper grass. Even today, with the rapid development of exploration technology, it is still an important symbol for geologists to search for copper deposits, and is known as the "scout" of copper deposits.

There is grass on the mountain and there is a mine at the foot of the mountain. You may wonder why copper grass can convey the message of hiding copper underground. There are two reasons. The first is the relationship between copper ions in soil and copper ore. Because some soils are formed by direct weathering of minerals, others infiltrate the metals dissolved in water into the soil through the flow of groundwater. Therefore, when there are copper deposits in the area, the content of copper in the soil is high. Then the second reason is the copper grass's preference for copper. For plants, their roots are deeply rooted in the soil in order to absorb trace elements in the soil as nutrients. On the other hand, different plants have different preferences and tolerance for various trace elements. When the content of copper in the soil is high, many plants will be poisoned and killed by absorbing too much copper, while this kind of toothbrush grass thrives there because of its preference for copper. Therefore, when we see copper grass, we can infer that there is information about copper deposits underground.

In addition to prospecting, taking advantage of copper grass's preference for copper, we can also use it to control the problem of soil copper pollution or lack of copper, and even can be used to smelt copper ore. Scientists have found that the rhizome of copper grass contains 1 gram of copper per kilogram, which is about 1 gram of the same amount of ordinary copper ore. Its roots, stems, leaves and flowers can also be used to make copper. It not only has strong adsorption capacity, but also grows fast, which is convenient for large area culture and harvesting. It is a good method for plants to improve copper contaminated soil. If it is used as fertilizer, the problem of copper deficiency in other soils can be solved.

There are detailed records as early as in ancient China when it comes to plant prospecting. In Xunzi's exhortation to learn, "Jade in the mountains and moist vegetation" puts forward for the first time the idea that the minerals existing in the mountains are related to the surrounding plant ecology. Jin Zhang Hua's Museum Chronicles also said: "Mountain, …"... where there is grain, there is jade. " The Earth Mirror Map, a famous plant prospecting work of the Liang Dynasty in the Southern and Northern dynasties, recorded that "there are onions on the mountain, silver on the bottom, gold on the mountain, ginger on the mountain, copper and tin on the bottom, Baoyu on the mountain, and branches beside the wood droop." The exposition of. It shows the amazing observation and extraordinary wisdom of our ancestors.

Nowadays, ore prospecting methods have become diversified, and we can also use remote sensing for ore prospecting. The principle is that the enrichment of heavy metal elements by plants will interfere with the absorption and utilization of basic nutrients by plants themselves, and affect their normal development. The pigment content, cell structure and water content of plants are abnormal, which leads to changes in plant communities. When the resolution of remote sensing images can distinguish these anomalies, we can focus on studying the land in this abnormal area and looking for the existence of mineral resources.

Remote sensing prospecting [2]

The composition of gold in leaves (China Science and Technology Network) at all times and at home and abroad, examples of plant prospecting abound. In the mid-1950s, American geologists used eucalyptus as an indicator plant and discovered five large uranium deposits on the Colorado Plateau. Zambia has also found a blue tequila, also known as "copper grass", which can also be directed to look for copper. Australian scientists have also found trace amounts of gold in the leaves of an eucalyptus tree, which China Science and Technology Network reported as a "cash cow". Their particles are so small that only 1/5 of the diameter of the hair can be discovered by scientists using advanced X-ray imaging techniques. There is no lack of beauty in life, but there is a lack of eyes to find beauty. the same truth is used here. These discoveries are accidental and inevitable, and we need to be good at observation, think diligently, be dedicated people, read thousands of books and travel thousands of miles. If you are lucky, you may also find a "cash cow"!

reference

Wang Min. Prospecting guide-- Tongcao [J]. Friends of Science (Edition A), 2008 (5): 54.

[2] Ma Zhifei. The Scout of Underground Mineral deposits-indicator plants [J]. Life World, 2011 (5): 48-52.

[3] Ye Shuiying. Principle and application of plant prospecting [J]. Agriculture and Technology, 2014. 34 (9): 1: 19.

This article comes from the official account of Wechat: stone popular Science Studio (ID:Dr__Stone), author: Ruoyu, beautiful editor: Ke ran

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