Uvariopsis dicaprio, is four metres tall, with 15 cm long leaves, and bears bunches of large, glossy, bright yellow-green flowers on its trunk. The tree is endemic to the Ebo forest and is so far only known from the lower submontane forest which has an elevation of 850 metres. The area of occupation of U. dicaprio is estimated as 4 sq. km.
The new tree was assessed as ‘critically endangered’, as its habitat remains unprotected and faces threats from logging, conversion to plantations, and mining.
Why Uvariopsis dicaprio is named after famous American Actor Leonardo DiCaprio
The tree has been named after the famous American movie fame Leonardo dicaprio. The actor come environmental activist has been taking several measures to conserve Ebo forest. The tree has been named after the actor to boost his campaigns against cutting of trees in the forest.
The paper published yesterday in the journal PeerJ explains that the actor’s name was chosen as he had “lobbied extensively on social media to draw attention to threats for the numerous rare Ebo species from the logging concession that had been announced at Ebo earlier that year.
Every year, we work with our partners around the world to identify and protect unknown plant and fungi species.
In 2021, 205 species were named new to science! 🌱🍄
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Ebo Wildlife Reserve
The Ebo Wildlife Reserve is protected area and proposed national park in Cameroon that covers 1,417 km² of lowland and montane forest mosaic with a high proportion of disturbed forest. The critically endangered Preuss’s red colobus has been recorded within the confines of the proposed park.