Scientists found the surprising characteristic had evolved through the years, predisposing the species to a great advantage.

Lightning is a major cause of tree mortality, accounting for up to 40% of the deaths of large trees in lowland tropical forests where the tonka bean trees reside, previous research has shown.

Lucky strike. 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.

Lightning's quiet impact could have lasting effects on the world’s forests - and the carbon cycle they support.

Though being struck by lightning is usually bad, the tropical tree Dipteryx oleifera benefits. A strike kills other nearby trees and parasitic vines.

Getting zapped with millions of volts of electricity may not sound like a healthy activity, but for some trees, it is. A new study, published in New Phytologist, reports that some tropical tree ...

Nature’s shock therapy: How lightning strikes help this tropical tree. Dipteryx oleifera is native to Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador. Evan Gora.

Lightning strikes on the almendros also reduced the average number of parasitic vines on a tree by 78 percent, by killing them. These vines climb on top of the trees to “steal” light.

NWS in Ruskin, the office that covers the Fort Myers-Cape Coral area, is forecasting an 80% to 90% chance rain through ...