Within the last decade, nickel has been established to be as an essential element in higher plants. Although well-defined enzymatic functions are known to be associated with nickel in leguminous plants, apparently the need for nickel exists in other plants as well.

No one has ever seen a nickel deficiency in soil-grown plants. In fact, nickel toxicity often limits plant growth in soils that formed from ultramafic rocks such as serpentine, and specialized suites of adapted vegetation are common in such environments.

This page was last modified by Phillip Barak, Univ. of Wisconsin, on 10 Jan 97. All rights reserved.