The “White” Beech from the Moravian Karst: How a Tree Can Live for 30 Years Without Photosynthesis
A Czech research team has drawn attention to an extraordinary albino beech from the Moravian Karst.
The one-metre-tall tree lacks chlorophyll and, despite being unable to photosynthesise, has been growing for about thirty years. The researchers focused on identifying the sources from which the tree obtains sugars to survive. The results were published in the journal Tree Physiology.
More information:
Z. Špíšek, E. Tylová H. Konrádová, Z. Lhotáková, Marc-André Selosse, J. Korecký, T. Figura (2025). Tree Physiology: Survival without photosynthesis: Physiological characterization of long-lived albino beech (Fagus sylvatica) https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpaf154