SERPENTINE SOILS ... Earl B. Alexander:
In Fremontia v. 38:4/39:1 (October 2010)
Plants that thrive on serpentine soils have unusual capabilities to utilize calcium when the alkaline earth elements are dominated by magnesium, and to tolerate concentrations of cobalt and nickel that are toxic to most plants.
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There are only two Ni hyperaccumulating species in California, and both are in the mustard (Brassicaceae) family: milkwor tjewel flower (Streptanthus polygaloides) ...
[Wikipedia] Range: It is endemic to the Sierra Nevada foothills of California, where it grows in woodlands and chaparral, generally on serpentine soils. (link added by Mary Ann Machi)
[Wikipedia] Phytoremediation: Phytoremediation
The plant's ability to draw relatively large amounts of nickel from the soil make it of interest as an agent of phytoremediation in soils polluted with heavy metals.[8] (link added by Mary Ann Machi)
Streptanthus polygaloides "children": Subspecies in the polymorphic species Streptanthus polygaloides
