Cesium for Plants: Competitor of Potassium and Rubidium
Cesium (Cs)
For the plant – a competitor of potassium and rubidium
Cesium is not among the main components of plant tissues, and there is little information about its content in plants. According to some data, the content of cesium in flowering plants ranges from 3 to 89 mg/kg (the average content is 22 mg/kg).
In tea leaves (in ash), it contains 0.5–1 mg/kg, while in desert plants, it ranges from 0.03 to 0.4 mg/kg dry weight, with an average value of 0.1 mg/kg.
Lettuce, barley, and flax accumulate cesium in their roots (maximum accumulation – 0.32 mg/kg dry weight), while there is almost no cesium in young leaves (maximum – in flax – only 0.07 mg/kg).
The limits of cesium content in vegetables range from 0.2 to 3.3 µg/kg wet weight, in fruits – from <0.1 to 2.9 µg/kg wet weight.
Cesium is relatively easily absorbed by plants; however, its absorption in roots apparently competes with potassium absorption. It can partially replace potassium positions in compounds but cannot replace it in metabolic processes. In terms of physiological properties, cesium is similar to rubidium. The addition of lime and peat to the soil significantly suppresses the bioavailability of cesium.
With excess cesium in the soil, the leaves of plants darken, wither, and the number of shoots significantly increases.
Medicinal plants containing cesium:
• field horsetail Equisetum arvense L., Equisetaceae (herb);
• common centaury Centaurium erythraea Rafn, Gentianaceae (herb);
• St. John’s wort Hypericum perforatum L., Hypericaceae (herb);
• buckthorn Frangula alnus Mill., Rhamnaceae (bark);
• common oak Quercus robur L., Fagaceae (bark);
• marsh ledum Ledum palustre L., Ericaceae (shoots);
• common sage Salvia officinalis L., Lamiaceae (leaves);
• meadow sage Salvia pratensis L., Lamiaceae (leaves);
• common lingonberry Vaccinium vitis-idaea L., Ericaceae (leaves, fruits);
• common bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus L., Ericaceae (leaves);
• common bearberry Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (L.) Spreng., Ericaceae (leaves);
• common tansy Tanacetum vulgare L., Asteraceae (inflorescences);
• species of rose Rosa L., Rosaceae (fruits);
• bloody hawthorn Crataegus sanguinea Pall., Rosaceae (fruits).
• field horsetail Equisetum arvense L., Equisetaceae (herb);
• common centaury Centaurium erythraea Rafn, Gentianaceae (herb);
• St. John’s wort Hypericum perforatum L., Hypericaceae (herb);
• buckthorn Frangula alnus Mill., Rhamnaceae (bark);
• common oak Quercus robur L., Fagaceae (bark);
• marsh ledum Ledum palustre L., Ericaceae (shoots);
• common sage Salvia officinalis L., Lamiaceae (leaves);
• meadow sage Salvia pratensis L., Lamiaceae (leaves);
• common lingonberry Vaccinium vitis-idaea L., Ericaceae (leaves, fruits);
• common bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus L., Ericaceae (leaves);
• common bearberry Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (L.) Spreng., Ericaceae (leaves);
• common tansy Tanacetum vulgare L., Asteraceae (inflorescences);
• species of rose Rosa L., Rosaceae (fruits);
• bloody hawthorn Crataegus sanguinea Pall., Rosaceae (fruits).
Plants with minimal cesium content:
• three-colored violet Viola tricolor L., Violaceae (herb);
• creeping thyme Thymus serpyllum L., Lamiaceae (herb);
• common oregano Origanum vulgare L., Lamiaceae (herb);
• lily of the valley Convallaria majalis L., Convallariaceae (leaves, herb, flowers);
• large-flowered foxglove Digitalis grandiflora Mill., Scrophulariaceae (leaves);
• sandy immortelle Helichrysum arenarium (L.) DG, Asteraceae (inflorescences).
• three-colored violet Viola tricolor L., Violaceae (herb);
• creeping thyme Thymus serpyllum L., Lamiaceae (herb);
• common oregano Origanum vulgare L., Lamiaceae (herb);
• lily of the valley Convallaria majalis L., Convallariaceae (leaves, herb, flowers);
• large-flowered foxglove Digitalis grandiflora Mill., Scrophulariaceae (leaves);
• sandy immortelle Helichrysum arenarium (L.) DG, Asteraceae (inflorescences).