''Ilex sapiiformis'', also known as the Pernambuco holly, is a

critically endangered An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...

tree in the family

Aquifoliaceae ''Ilex'' () or holly is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen or ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the state of

Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Description

The tree can grow up to tall and is diecious. The flowers are small and white.

Distribution and habitat

The species has been known only from a small patch of forest next to a

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

plantation in the Igarassu municipality of Pernambuco, close to the

Greater Recife Recife Metropolitan Area, officially the Metropolitan Region of Recife (, or ''Grande Recife''), is a major metropolitan area in Northeast Brazil with a population of 3.7 million as of 2022, centered on the state capital of Recife, Pernambuco. In ...

metropolitan area.

Conservation

After the type specimen was described in 1836, no other individuals were found and the species was considered possibly

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

for nearly 200 years until 4 plants (2 males and 2 females) were found in March 2023. Since then, one of the trees has died, leaving only 3 known individuals, rendering the plant narrowly close to extinction unless captive propagation or habitat preservation is done.

References

sapiiformus Endemic flora of Brazil Critically endangered flora of South America Flora of Pernambuco {{Ilex-stub