How is silica transported to the leaves of genus Dendrocnide trees to form stinging needles for toxin delivery?
Biosilicification is a good search term to use.
The silicic acid present around the roots can be actively transported into roots, and later into specific cells or cell compartments. It is deposited preferentially onto lignin or polysaccharide surfaces.
For free articles giving an overview there is:
Nawaz, Muhammad Amjad et al. “Phytolith Formation in Plants: From Soil to Cell.” Plants (Basel, Switzerland) vol. 8,8 249. 26 Jul. 2019, doi:10.3390/plants8080249
found at:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6724085/
and:
&quot;From biosilicification to tailored materials: Optimizing hydrophobic domains and resistance to protonation of polyamines&quot;
David J. Belton, Siddharth V. Patwardhan, Vadim V. Annenkov, Elena N. Danilovtseva, and Carole C. Perry
PNAS April 22, 2008 105 (16) 5963-5968; first published April 17, 2008 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0710809105
found at:
https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/105/16/5963.full.pdf
Keywords silaffins, frustulins, pleuralins (used by diatoms) silicatein (used by sponges)