Actor Leonardo DiCaprio Has a New Tree Species and Snake Named in Honor of His Support for Environment
Environment conservationists honored American actor, Leonardo DiCaprio in 2022 by naming a tree after him. The tree was discovered by the scientists in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, PEOPLE reported. The tree reportedly grows only in the Cameroon forest. The scientists chose to name the tree after the actor, because of his work as an advocate for environmental protection. Researchers published their findings regarding the new-found tree in a scientific journal titled PeerJ.
The critically endangered tree discovered by the scientists had glossy, yellow-green flowers. It was given the name Uvariopsis DiCaprio and was believed to be a part of the ylang ylang family, according to experts.
The scientists cited DiCaprio's efforts in bringing attention to the condition of Ebo species as one of the reasons behind this distinction, in the journal. "This threatened and spectacular tree is named for the American actor and conservationist Leonardo DiCaprio, who, through several months in 2020, lobbied extensively on social media to draw attention to threats for the numerous rare Ebo species from the logging concession that had been announced at Ebo earlier that year," scientists shared. "The concession was canceled in August 2020, surely partly due to his efforts."
The scientists believe that the discovery of the tree implies that many similar species are lying undiscovered in the forests, PEOPLE reported. Like most wildlife and nature, these species are in danger because of human action. "This natural habitat that they're growing in — especially forests, but other habitats too, is increasingly and more rapidly being destroyed by us humans without knowing what's there," Dr Martin Cheek from Kew Gardens explained.
In 2024, a snake was also named after DiCaprio, the New York Post reported. The new species was discovered while researchers were studying snakes found in the Western Himalayas. The researchers named the animal Anguiculus dicaprioi, or DiCaprio’s Himalayan snake.
The honor was given because of DiCaprio's environmental philanthropy. "American actor, film producer, and environmentalist [is someone] who has been actively involved in creating awareness about global climate change (and) increased biodiversity loss," the researchers said. Findings regarding the snake have been published in a journal named Nature.