A kind of little holly tree that was thought to be extinct over two centuries ago has been rediscovered clinging to life in an urban area in northeastern Brazil, experts reported Tuesday. The tree, “Ilex sapiiformis,” was discovered in the city of Igarassu, Pernambuco state, by an expedition that spent six days combing the region in search of it, according to Re:wild, a conservation nonprofit co-founded by Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio. The tree, sometimes known as the Pernambuco holly, was first identified in Western science in 1838 by the Scottish naturalist George Gardner.
The crew now plans to launch a breeding program for the tree
Until March 22, when a new expedition discovered four of the trees on the bank of a tiny river in the city of Igarassu, just outside the state capital of Recife. “It’s incredible that the Pernambuco holly was rediscovered in a metropolitan area that is home to nearly six million people,” Re:wild’s Lost Species program officer, Christina Biggs, said in a statement. “We don’t often think of plants as being lost to science, because they don’t move like animals, but they are every bit as integral to the ecosystems they are native to.”
The team found the plants after following a trail of small white flowers characteristic of the species. “It seemed that the world had stopped turning its gears,” said expedition member Juliana Alencar. “Nature surprises us. Finding a species that hasn’t been heard of in nearly two centuries doesn’t happen every day. It was an incredible moment.” According to the expedition’s leader, ecologist Gustavo Martinelli, the crew now plans to launch a breeding program for the tree.
