The tonka bean tree can survive a lightning strike, and thrive. Lightning strikes may kill untold numbers of trees every year, but one tropical species has evolved to benefit from the sudden jolts ...

By Rebecca Dzombak When lightning strikes a tree in the tropics, the whole forest explodes. “At their most extreme, it kind of looks like a bomb went off,” said Evan Gora, a forest ecologist ...

The tonka bean tree (Dipteryx oleifera) may actually benefit from being struck by lightning, according to a new study. Scientists discovered that these trees not only survive these electrical ...

While working in Panama in 2015, Evan Gorra, a forest ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in the US, found a tree that had survived a lightning strike with little damage.

Lightning is often seen as a killer, leaving behind destruction and death of trees — but one tropical species has evolved to use the force of nature to its benefit. The tonka bean tree ...

Lightning strikes may kill untold numbers of trees every year, but one tropical species has evolved to benefit from the sudden jolts of electricity. The tonka bean tree, aka Dipteryx oleifera, has ...

A team of researchers, led by Evan Gora, a forest ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, noticed a Dipteryx oleifera tree standing tall and largely undamaged following a lightning ...

View Full Profile. Learn about our Editorial Policies. Although historically overlooked, lightning may play a surprisingly large role in shaping tropical forests, accounting for as much as 40 percent ...