LIFE IP AZORES NATURA develops conservations actions for the species Euphorbia santamariae

April 20, 2022

LIFE IP AZORES NATURA develops conservations actions for the species Euphorbia santamariae

The Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Change, through the LIFE IP AZORES NATURE projects, the Azores Seed Bank and the Santa Maria Environment and Climate Change Service, produce seeds from several dozen specimens of the species Euphorbia santamariae. According to the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature – IUCN, this species is critically endangered in the wild and in an unfavourable state according to the Habitats Directive of the European Union.

In 2002, the botanist Hanno Schaefer described this plant as a subspecies of the Euphorbia stygiana ssp. stygiana that occurs in the remaining Azorean islands. However, the same author recently concluded that the species from Santa Maria is so different that it must be considered a distinct species. It is, therefore, now classified as Euphorbia santamariae, a name formally published by the botanist in the 3rd edition (2021) of his book Flora of the Azores - A Field Guide.

The Euphorbia santamariae is the only endemic shrub that occurs on only one island. There are only a few dozen specimens of this species left in the wild, sheltering in an area of difficult access in the Ribeira do Salto Valley, in the eastern half of the island of Santa Maria. 

To address the threats faced by this species, the LIFE IP AZORES NATURA project is carrying out actions at this site to remove invasive species, such as Pittosporum undulatum and Hedychium gardnerianum, and, between March 2021 and March 2022, has reintroduced into the wild 77 specimens of Euphorbia santamariae to reinforce the population of this plant. Soon, sowing will also be done directly on site.

Stay up to date with this and other actions on www.lifeazoresnatura.eu/en.