{"id":109067,"date":"2025-05-17T13:01:08","date_gmt":"2025-05-17T13:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/109067\/"},"modified":"2025-05-17T13:01:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-17T13:01:08","slug":"extinct-plant-species-rediscovered-in-spains-andalucia-after-40-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/109067\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Extinct\u2019 plant species rediscovered in Spain\u2019s Andalucia after 40 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

A RARE plant species thought to be extinct for over four decades has been rediscovered in Andalucia.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The discovery was made at Sierra Morena natural park in the province of Sevilla by Rosario Velasco, a botanist with the Andalucian Network of Botanical and Mycological Gardens in Natural Spaces.<\/p>\n

Gyrocaryum oppositifolium, popularly known as \u2018nomev\u00e9s\u2019 (\u2018you can\u2019t see me\u2019), had not been sighted since 1982 and was described by the Junta as one of the \u2018scarcest and most endangered plant species of Iberian flora\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The sighting of over 100 nomev\u00e9s plants raises hopes that the species will be able to flourish, with experts suggesting that its recent reappearance could be linked to this year\u2019s heavy rainfall.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Snakes have \u2018fully invaded\u2019 Spain\u2019s Ibiza: Environmentalists fear for local lizard species<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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?A Spanish biologist finds in Seville the “nomev\u00e9s” plant, an Iberian botanical jewel that had been hidden for 40 years. It is a living fossil more than 25 million years old.
Rosario Velasco found the plant in the same Seville mountains where it was discovered in the early 80s. pic.twitter.com\/xTc8CJeRCq<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Embassy of Spain UK (@EmbSpainUK) May 13, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Catalina Garcia, regional minister for the environment, described the discovery as \u2018a cause for joy, but also a reminder of the fragility of many elements of our natural heritage and the need to continue to protect them\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have shown that the commitment to biodiversity is much more than a declaration, it is a firm public policy that bears fruit,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are beginning a new chapter in the conservation of the nomev\u00e9s, and we are going to develop actions appropriate to its delicate life cycle and the peculiarities of its habitat.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response to the findings, botanists across Andalucia have begun to search for the species in similar habitats with the hope of identifying new areas of growth.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Only two other sites have been identified as hosting nomev\u00e9s plants: Ponferrada, Leon in the 1990s, and Cadalso de los Vidrios near Madrid in the early 2000s.<\/p>\n