Leonardo ‘Tree’ Caprio: new species named after actor

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A new tree species has been named after actor Leonardo DiCaprio as a tribute to the Hollywood star’s anti-logging campaigning, London’s Royal Botanic Gardens introduced Thursday (Jan 6).

The evergreen with massive yellowish-green flowers, which was present in Cameroon’s Ebo forest, was the primary new species to be formally named in 2022 by botanists from the famend gardens within the London borough of Kew.

The tree’s scientific identify – Uvariopsis dicaprio – recognises the 47-year-old US actor’s work to stop logging within the endangered forest, the place the one recognized specimen of the tree was discovered rising.

The Hollywood A-lister campaigned on social media after Cameroon granted permission for logging within the pristine wildlife reserve in 2020.

The concession was cancelled months later by Cameroon’s President Paul Biya, “absolutely partly resulting from his help”, the scientists wrote in PeerJ on-line journal, referring to DiCaprio.

“We very a lot appreciated the help Leo gave us in campaigning to guard Ebo final 12 months so it appeared becoming to honour him on this method,” mentioned Martin Cheek, who leads the Africa group in Kew’s identification and naming division.

“Had the logging concession gone forward, we might have probably misplaced this species to timber extraction and slash and burn agriculture that often follows logging concessions,” Cheek added.

The Uvariopsis dicaprio has been provisionally listed as critically endangered.

The sole recognized specimen, which measures 4 metres (13 toes) excessive and has solely male flowers, was found subsequent to a footpath, the scientists mentioned.

DiCaprio, finest recognized for the 1997 movie Titanic, presently stars as an astronomer within the Netflix comedy Don’t Look Up about scientists making an attempt to attract the world’s consideration to a comet heading in the direction of Earth.

He himself has however been criticised for flying in a personal jet to choose up an environmental award in 2016.

Scientists at Kew have been naming new species of crops and fungi for greater than 150 years.

It will not be uncommon for species to be named after celebrities.

A Caribbean crustacean parasite is named after reggae star Bob Marley, an Australian horse fly is named after the singer Beyonce and a frog has been named after Prince Charles. – AFP



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