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 ...

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Scientists discover trees in the lowland rainforests of Panama that use lightning strikes to ...

For trees, lightning strikes are the great leveller. Stick your neck out by growing taller than the rest, and you risk getting zapped into oblivion. Hundreds of millions of trees suffer this fate ...