An expedition team, searching Brazil’s Pernambuco state, rediscovered a small and inconspicuous holly tree (Ilex sapiiformis) that has eluded botanists and conservationists for nearly two centuries. Source: Timberbiz
The tree, which can reach between 8-to-12 meters, was found in Igarassu in northeastern Brazil. The place where the team found the tree was once dense Atlantic tropical forest but is now mostly urban areas surrounded and interspersed by sugarcane plantations.
The expedition team, led by Gustavo Martinelli, an ecologist with Navia Biodiversity Ltd., spent six days searching different areas in Recife and found four of the trees. The Pernambuco holly is one of the top 25 most wanted lost species by the Search for Lost Species, and it is the ninth to be rediscovered since the project launched in 2017.
“The Pernambuco holly is in an emergency situation now,” said Martinelli. “It could be on the verge of extinction because, as far as we know, there are just four individuals of the species. And these individuals are in an area of degraded riparian forest, despite being protected by law.”
The Pernambuco holly was first collected for western science by the naturalist George Gardner in 1838 on an expedition, and it was later officially described by Siegfried Reissek in 1861. Until the recent rediscovery, Gardner’s collection of the species was the only known confirmed sighting.
The expedition team eventually identified four areas in the metropolitan region of Recife to search. There are many different species within the group of holly trees that the Pernambuco holly belongs to and identifying them is extremely difficult.
Each Pernambuco holly plant is either male or female, meaning it has either stamens (male reproductive parts), or pistils (female productive parts). The team’s specialists and parabotanists were able to identify the Pernambuco holly from its tiny green flowers. They found four of the trees; two males and two females in a forested area on the banks of a small river.
“The moment when we found Ilex sapiiformis, it seemed that the world had stopped turning its gears,” said 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, and the emotion of it was felt throughout the entire team. When I looked at Professor Milton Groppo, I saw that he had tears in his eyes.”
A team from Jardim Botânico de Recife is monitoring the four Pernambuco holly trees the expedition team found, returning to the site weekly to see if the trees are fruiting. The team hopes to collect seeds of the tree and germinate them.
The search for more Pernambuco holly trees isn’t over yet. Martinelli is hoping to organize additional searches with Jardim Botânico de Recife and other local partners in Recife to find more individuals of the species. He also hopes to work with partners to better protect the forest in Recife where the Pernambuco holly was found and establish a captive breeding program for the tree.
“It’s incredible that the Pernambuco holly was rediscovered in a metropolitan area that is home to nearly six million people,” said Christina Biggs, lost species program officer, Re:wild. “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. Even if a plant hasn’t had a confirmed sighting in 186 years, it could still be hanging on in the last vestiges of the wild somewhere, and this tree is a perfect example of why it’s important to keep looking.”
