Lightning strikes kill millions of trees each year—but it turns out that some large tropical (热带的) trees can not only stay alive after they’re hit by a strike, but also benefit from its effects, according to a recent study.

Some trees are getting repeatedly hit by lightning over their lifetime. But why can they survive? Researchers don’t know for sure. However, they think that trees will be heated less if they’re more conductive. That means the energy from lightning is just moving to their neighbors, instead of staying in them. The lightning’s strong power kills the parasitic vines (寄生藤蔓) on the trees. It also kills some other trees nearby, reducing competition.

Dipteryx oleifera, a tree in Panama’s forests, has probably experienced 10 lightning strikes so far. It stays safe and sound, while most of the neighboring trees were killed. If you are in the forest where it is, you’ll know what it is—its huge size and height. “We believe the trees in Panama’s forests have five strikes on average. But, you know, some of them obviously have a ton.” Evan Gora, a forest ecologist said.

How long do these trees live in the forests? People can’t do tree ring dating in tropical forests because the trees don’t make continuous growth rings. Researchers guess many of the trees would be hundreds, or maybe even more than 1,000 years old.

What can we learn from the study? The hardest things can turn into good things, can they?