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This tree harnesses lightning to kill parasites and even other trees

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Summary
Nutrition label

77% Informative

The tonka bean tree ( Dipteryx oleifera) thrives under lightning strikes in Panama rainforests.

Researchers tracked lightning strikes between 2014 and 2019 and documented nearly 100 strikes.

Each strike eliminated more than two metric tons of neighboring plant biomass.

With fewer parasites and less surrounding competition, the tonka tree sees a remarkable 14-fold boost in reproductive success.

VR Score

82

Informative language

84

Neutral language

14

Article tone

informal

Language

English

Language complexity

50

Offensive language

possibly offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

not detected

Known propaganda techniques

not detected

Time-value

long-living

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