A tropical tree discovered in Cameroon named after Leonardo DiCaprio
Environment — di Simone Santi
A new tropical tree has been discovered in the Ebo forest, in Cameroon, which Leo DiCaprio helped save: researchers named it after him.
A tropical tree discovered in Cameroon named after Leonardo DiCaprio
A new tropical tree has been discovered in the Ebo forest, in Cameroon, which Leo DiCaprio helped save: researchers named it after him.
A species of tropical tree found growing only in Cameroon, on the African continent, has been named after Leonardo DiCaprio, the American actor who has long been a symbol of the fight for the environment and against climate change. The tree was discovered by researchers at the Royal Botanic Gardens (Kew) in London.
Why a tropical tree was named after Leonardo DiCaprio
The tree belongs to the ylang-ylang family, from which a well-known essence widely used in cosmetics is derived, and according to researchers it grows only in the tropical Ebo forest in Cameroon: "The discoverers – announce the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew – chose the name Uvariopsis dicaprio for the tree, in honour of Leonardo DiCaprio, who played an important role in protecting the Ebo forest.
This is an important step to help protect Ebo Forest.
reuters.com/article/us-cam…
reuters.com/article/us-cam…
DiCaprio had in fact supported the international effort to revoke a logging concession for the precious Ebo forest that had been granted in February 2020.
The new Uvariopsis dicaprio, according to the article published in the journal PeerJ, is distinguished from other species in the same tree family by its leaves, which are more than 15 centimetres long, and by its flowers, which grow directly on the branches with stalks more than 10 millimetres long and more than 7 millimetres long. In effect, it is "born" already on the verge of extinction, as it is "threatened by current anthropogenic pressures".
Uvariopsis dicaprio is out today! see @PeerJLife peerj.com/articles/12614 #Biodiversity #ConservationBiology #PlantScience #Taxonomy
@KewAfrica
@KewAfrica
Last year, Cameroon's Prime Minister, Joseph Dion Ngute, had signed a decree that would have transformed half of the forest — equivalent to 68,000 hectares inhabited by several indigenous peoples as well as many animal and plant species also at risk of extinction — into a so-called forest management unit, meaning that deforestation rights could have been auctioned off to the highest bidder.
Strong protests from citizens and NGOs, with Leonardo DiCaprio immediately active in amplifying their calls, subsequently led the Cameroonian government to reverse course.