Money doesn’t grow on trees, but gold does, according to a new study

By Eric Ralls – earth.com

Plants do more than photosynthesize – some of them make gold. In a boreal forest in northern Finland, scientists found tiny gold particles inside Norway spruce needles.

Plants like the Norway spruce host tiny microbial partners that tweak chemistry inside their leaves and needles in ways that science is only beginning to understand.

For the first time, scientists have linked bacteria living inside Norway spruce needles to the formation of gold nanoparticles.