Nickel Uptake by New Caledonian Species of Phyllanthus

Summary Herbarium specimens (nearly 350) of New Caledonian species of Phyllanthus (Euphorbiaceae) were analysed for their nickel and cobalt contents with a view to discovering new hyperaccumulators of nickel (>1000 μg/g dry mass) and to assisting in chemotaxonomic classification of this difficult genus. A total of 10 hyperaccumulators were identified and it was possible to characterise and identify a number of species from their nickel and/or cobalt contents. This was particularly true for the taxonomically difficult section Heteroglochidion. This work raises to 40 the number of known hyperaccumulators of nickel found in New Caledonia.