While lightning is a fascinating phenomenon, it's also infamous in its capacity for destruction and the danger it poses to ...

Researchers have discovered a tree that miraculously uses lightning to kill parasites and other trees around it.

But the opposite appears to be the case for the towering tonka bean tree (Dipteryx oleifera), a native of the rainforests of Panama that grows up to 130 feet tall and lives for hundreds of years.

Remarkably, not only do these trees survive unscathed, but they also seem to benefit from the strikes. Dipteryx oleifera, or tonka bean trees, appear to thrive in the wake of lightning.

The tree, a Dipteryx oleifera (D. oleifera) also known as the 'Tonka Bean' or 'almendro,' Spanish for almond, is known for its almond-flavored seeds. The impact blew away the vines that had ...

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 ...