Rare flower not seen since discovery 100 years ago found on remote Brazil island

On a small, remote island off the coast of Brazil, scientists have rediscovered a rare flower not seen in over a century.

Begonia larorum was discovered on Alcatrazes Island in 1920 and never recorded again until researchers stumbled upon a single flower in 2024, according to a study published Oct. 16 in Oryx.

Against the odds, the critically endangered species has survived a century of human disturbances and pressure on the island including agriculture, and military operations, according to the study.

In 2004, an artillery exercise caused a large fire that destroyed an area roughly the size of 30 football fields filled with native vegetation, researchers said.

During a field expedition to the island in February 2024, researchers “found a single individual in the forest” understory and propagated it, creating more plants by using cuttings from that one specimen, at the University of Campinas in São Paulo, according to the study.

Seven months later, the team found a small population of 19 plants, 17 of which had the ability to reproduce “in an open area” on the island prone to invasive grasses and fires, researchers said.

This population gave researchers the opportunity to capture the first color photograph of the flower, according to the study.

As these are the “only 17 reproductive individuals of Begonia larorum known to exist,” researchers said they are concerned about “the species’ genetic diversity and long-term viability.”

However, researchers said there may be other individuals in the unreachable areas of Alcatrazes Island’s “steep inaccessible terrain.”

“Given its restricted range and the threats to its survival, we recommend the species be assessed for inclusion on the global IUCN Red List in addition to maintaining its Critically Endangered status at national level on the Red List of Brazilian Flora,” researchers said.

Researchers also recommend conservation efforts focused on protecting populations on the island as well as cloning the species and housing them in “botanical gardens, greenhouses and collections at independent sites.”

The research team included Gabriel Sabino, Vitor Kamimura, Gabriel Marcusso, Ingrid Koch, Gustavo Shimizu and Fabio Pinheiro.