LIFE10 NAT/IT/000237 Zelkov@zione
"Urgent actions to rescue Zelkova sicula from extinction"
Zelkova sicula is a very rare plant discovered in 1991, which survives only in two small areas, located in the mountain range of the Iblei Mountains in south-eastern Sicily, each consisting of a few hundred copies; Z. sicula appeared during the Tertiary Era, and later, during the Quaternary glaciations, the genus Zelkova became extinct in all of continental Europe. Because of its rarity, the species is therefore included in the Red List of endangered species in the category "seriously endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.