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A tree like a man: "Uvariopsis dicaprio" in the Ebo forest of Cameroon
Photo: Lorna Mackinnon;
Kew Gardens / dpa
The US actor Leonardo DiCaprio already has an Oscar and the Golden Globe - now there is another honor that he cannot put on the shelf: a tree.
Researchers have named a newly discovered tree species after the DiCaprio.
The tree, which grows exclusively in the Ebo forest in Cameroon, is now officially called "Uvariopsis dicaprio," said the researchers in a report in the science magazine "PeerJ".
The tropical tree has shiny, yellow-green flowers.
Scientists from the Royal Botanical Gardens of Kew in London made the discovery together with researchers from the National Herbarium of Cameroon.
DiCaprio campaigned against the deforestation of Ebo species
The scientists wrote: “This threatened and spectacular tree is named after the American actor and conservationist Leonardo DiCaprio, who spent several months working intensively on social media in 2020 in order to investigate the threat to the numerous rare Ebo species posed by the beginning of the Annual deforestation concession announced. "The concession was withdrawn in August 2020," certainly in part thanks to his efforts. " The Uvariopsis dicaprio is still unprotected in the Ebo forest and is therefore threatened by deforestation for plantations and mining.
DiCaprio has been campaigning for nature and climate protection for many years, and in 2019 he met climate activist Greta Thunberg.
Most recently DiCaprio played in the Netflix film "Don't Look Up".
In it he plays a scientist who wants to warn mankind that an asteroid will destroy all life on earth in six months.
has / dpa