S. sempervivum is an arctic-alpine plant with small succulent leaves that have a protective silvery-white crust on its surface. In a collaboration between the Garden and the Sainsbury Laboratory, scientists sampled Saxifraga from the Garden’s National Collection and discovered that the protective crust contains the rare mineral vaterite, a form of calcium carbonate.
Naturally occurring vaterite is rarely found on Earth. Small amounts of vaterite crystals have been found in some sea and freshwater crustaceans, bird eggs, the inner ears of salmon, meteorites and rocks. This was the first time that the rare and unstable mineral has been found in plants and in such a large quantity. Saxifraga were found to be exuding vaterite from ‘chalk glands’ (hydathodes) on their leaf margins. Vaterite is of interest to the pharmaceutical industry for its use in drug delivery. Other potential uses of vaterite include improving the cements used in orthopaedic surgery and improving the quality of paper for inkjet printing by reducing the spread of ink.
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