Pycnandra acuminata is a rare tree of very large size - over 65ft (20m) high - from the tropical forest of New Caledonia. Its growth is very slow. Its resistance to metallic toxicity - and in particular to nickel, which is abundant in the Caledonian soil - was studied via Synchrotron which revealed very precise microscopic images of each of the tiny elements of this unusual plant without however making it possible to understand the evolutionary origins at the basis of the acquisition of such properties.