“金叶子”非虚构：树叶中真有黄金

Money really does grow on trees – at least in Australia.

树上真的可以长黄金——至少在澳大利亚是如此。

Scientists have found gold in the leaves of eucalyptus trees.

科学家们在桉树树叶里找到了黄金。

The particles are much too small to be seen with the naked eye but have been detected using a type of x-ray that is especially good at picking up trace amounts of metals and minerals.

这种树叶中含有的黄金粒子十分微小，不足以凭肉眼观察到，但是科学家们通过一种专门探查微量金属和矿物的X射线仪器发现了它们。

However, gold hunters shouldn’t start felling gum trees in the hope of becoming rich.

但是，猎金者们大概不能通过伐木来采金致富。

Study leader Mel Lintern told the Brisbane Times: ‘If you had 500 eucalyptus trees growing over a gold deposit, they would only have enough gold in there to make a wedding ring.’

科研小组的领队梅尔·林特恩对记者说，“如果让500棵桉树生长在一个金矿上，这些树中收集到的金子大概足够打一枚金戒指。”

The real value of the study is that nature’s own version of gold leaf could provide mine companies with an inexpensive and environmentally friendly indicator of where to drill test sites.

这一研究的真正价值在于，这种自然界而非小说里出现的金叶子可以充当金属探测器，这种探测方式既环保又方便，可以告诉探勘者在哪里能开采到金子。

The study by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Western Australia showed levels of the precious metal were highest in trees growing directly over gold seams, one of which was 115 feet down.

这项研究成果是由澳大利亚西部的联邦科学与工业研究组织成员做出的，该研究组织发现，直接生长在金矿层上的桉树叶中的黄金含量是最高的，其中一个金矿在地下115英尺（约35米）深。

The researchers believe the gold was taken up by the trees’ extensive roots from while scouring for water during times of drought.

研究者们相信，树叶中含有的金子是树根在干旱时期、四处蔓生以寻找水源时被吸取到树中的。

It was then transported through the tree to the leaves, where concentrations are higher than in the twigs, trunk or surface soil.

被树根吸取的金子被输送到枝干和叶子中，金子在叶子中的密集度比在树枝、树干和表层土壤中都要高。

The researchers said: ‘Gold is probably toxic to plants and is moved to extremities, such as leaves in order to reduce deleterious biochemical reactions.’

研究者说，“对于植物来说，黄金是有毒的，因此黄金被传送至树叶等植物的末端，这样可以减少破坏性的生化反应。”

Writing in the journal Nature Communications, they said it was the first time that gold had been found naturally incorporated into a living thing.

这一研究成果已经在《自然通讯》期刊上发表，科学家称，这是人们首次在植物体内发现自然贮藏的黄金。