Trees thought to be extinct have been found in Latin America

Several living trees of Ilex sapiiformis, also known as Pernambuco, have been accidentally discovered in Brazil. Scientists found four holly trees of a species that was thought to be extinct two centuries before the present day.

A team of researchers stumbled upon the trees in the northeastern part of the country, in the town of Igarassu. The area where the discovery was made was once a barely passable rainforest. Today, they are now replaced by a vast urban area. On the outskirts, however, there is agricultural land and sugar cane cultivation.