Dipteryx oleifera is an enormous tropical hardwood native to Panama’s lowland rainforests. It has grabbed the imagination of many because of its extraordinary prowess to endure lightning strikes. This species can grow up to 130 feet (40 meters) tall and is estimated to live for centuries, showcasing a unique resistance to electrical shocks that few other tree species possess.
Science shows that Dipteryx oleifera never seems to suffer damage after being hit by lightning. In reality, it’s believed that such trees incur an average of five separate lightning strikes by the time they reach maturity. This extraordinary fortitude goes hand-in-hand with the tree’s unique shape and anatomy. This feature allows the tree to soak up and re-release electrical energy safely without being harmed.
The lightning resistance of Dipteryx oleifera makes it possible for this species, in a paradisiacal fashion, to ensure and maintain its own survival and widespread ecological dominance. With each approach, it removes the other intertwining vines. This manual removal reduces competition by opening up the canopy, allowing more light to reach the tree. This competitive advantage is huge. When dropped on the ground by a lightning strike, the species can grow to produce 14 times more seeds over its lifetime.
Evan Gora, a researcher investigating this phenomenon, described the influence lightning strikes to the tree have had on the area surrounding the tree.
“We started doing this work 10 years ago, and it became really apparent that lightning kills a lot of trees, especially a lot of very big trees,” – Evan Gora
The tree’s towering height makes it a primary target for lightning, but its ability to survive these strikes sets it apart from other forest dwellers. Gora remarked on the consequences of living near Dipteryx oleifera, stating:
“Over those 40 years, there’s a quantifiable, detectable hazard of living next to Dipteryx oleifera. [As a tree], you are substantially more likely to die than living next to any other big old large tree in that forest,” – Gora
These special properties have encouraged researchers to investigate the effects of lightning even more. Gregory Moore, the other key scientist who worked on the groundbreaking studies, stressed that there is a great opportunity for this work to go beyond tropical rainforests.
“The sort of work could also apply to other tree-dominated plant communities such as woodlands or low woodlands where trees are widely separated, so nothing like a tropical forest,” – Gregory Moore
A study examining Dipteryx oleifera’s resilience to lightning strikes is well underway. This work is now paving the way for investigations into similar phenomena across other ecosystems. Scientists are expanding their studies to forests in Africa and Southeast Asia to determine whether other tree species may benefit from lightning strikes in ways akin to Dipteryx oleifera.
