The Euphrasia azorica seeds collected on the island of Corvo last year by technicians from the Regional Directorate for the Environment and Climate Action are beginning to show promising results. At the Faial Botanic Garden (JBF), one of these rare and endangered plants has started to flower, signalling an important step towards its preservation.

The next step? Later this year, Euphrasia azorica will be reintroduced to its natural habitat on the island of Corvo, contributing to the species’ recovery!

This action is part of C2.1 (Ex-situ conservation) of the LIFE IP AZORES NATURA project, emphasising the importance of conserving species with limited distribution and little-known ecology. Euphrasia azorica and Euphrasia grandiflora are currently conserved in the seed bank. Still, the small size of the samples and the difficulty in propagating them make this conservation work essential to guarantee their survival.

Every small advance represents a significant step towards preserving our unique biodiversity.