P

Psychotria gabriellae (Baill.) Guillaumin

Rubiaceae Shrub

Synonyms: Psychotria douarrei (Beauvis.) Däniker, Mapouria douarrei Beauvis.

Accumulation profile

Ni Nickel Obligate
63,750 µg g⁻¹ DW
63.8× the nickel threshold
Other nickel accumulators →
Substrate
Ultramafic (serpentine)
Habitat
Ultramafic maquis and rainforest
Distribution
New Caledonia
First reported
1978 · Jaffré & Schmid
Verification
primary-measured

Description & ecology

VALUE AS STATED AT SOURCE (Jaffré, Pillon, Thomine & Merlot 2013, Front. Plant Sci. 4:279, Supplementary Table, read 2026-09-13): Psychotria gabriellae (P. douarrei) — 55 foliar analyses, ALL ≥10,000 ppm Ni, range 18,000–63,750 µg g⁻¹ DW (data of Jaffré & Schmid plus new measurements by the authors).

DISCREPANCY FLAGGED, not smoothed: the same paper's Figure 2 caption states 'In natural growth condition, P. gabriellae accumulates up to 4% Ni in leaves' (≈40,000 µg g⁻¹), below the supplementary-table maximum of 63,750. The record follows the quantitative data table; independent compilations (van der Ent 2013; Reeves et al. 2018) sit between the two at ~47,500 µg g⁻¹, a figure now retired here as untraceable to any single measurement.

Ni was first reported exceeding 1% leaf DW in this species (Jaffré & Schmid 1974); 63% of leaf Ni is bound to malate (Kersten et al. 1980, cited in Jaffré et al. 2013). One of the highest foliar nickel concentrations documented in any plant.

Taxonomy: accepted name Psychotria gabriellae (Baill.) Guillaumin (GBIF taxonKey 3847888); P. douarrei retained as synonym and in this record's URL.

References

  1. Jaffré, T., Pillon, Y., Thomine, S., & Merlot, S. (2013). The metal hyperaccumulators from New Caledonia can broaden our understanding of nickel accumulation in plants. Frontiers in Plant Science, 4, 279. doi:10.3389/fpls.2013.00279
  2. Reeves, R. D., Baker, A. J. M., Jaffré, T., Erskine, P. D., Echevarria, G., & van der Ent, A. (2018). A global database for plants that hyperaccumulate metal and metalloid trace elements. New Phytologist, 218, 407–411. doi:10.1111/nph.14907
  3. van der Ent, A., Baker, A. J. M., Reeves, R. D., Pollard, A. J., & Schat, H. (2013). Hyperaccumulators of metal and metalloid trace elements: facts and fiction. Plant and Soil, 362, 319–334. doi:10.1007/s11104-012-1287-3

Related nickel accumulators