Struck by Lightning? This Tree Kinda Likes it

If you’re stuck outside in the middle of a lightning storm, the most common advice is to stay away from trees, which might attract lightning. And while getting struck by lightning would certainly be very bad news for you, new research suggests certain trees might draw unexpected benefits from the electrocution. A team of researchers has revealed that Dipteryx oleifera—a tall tropical tree with a large crown and native to Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama—not only tolerates lightning strikes but actually benefits from them, and may even have evolved to attract lightning. Their work is detailed in a study published Wednesday in the journal New Phytologist. Led by Evan Gora, a forest ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, the team was inspired to investigate D. oleifera’s relationship with lightning after discovering a unique specimen in Panama in 2015. The tree had survived getting struck by lightning with little damage, despite the fact that the electrocution ... Read full article.