In the same way that we accumulate minerals in the form of teeth and bones, plants accumulate minerals like calcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, and silica. Only, instead of teeth and bones, they make stinging hairs, trichomes, and other structures that protect them from herbivores.

Find out more in this microblog I wrote for The STEM Times.

The brilliant scanning electron microscopy images of biominerals in plants were captured by Maximilian Weigend and Hans-Jürgen Ensikat at the University of Bonn. Read their entire paper here.