An accident help the preservation of a Portuguese endemic plant.
The Leuzea Longifolia is an endemic plant of Portugal, very rare, in danger of extinction. Are known in only a few cores geographically distant in our country, and therefore biologically isolated, consisting of a very small number of individuals, which, added to the isolation and disruption by man 's hand, contributes significantly to their vulnerability ecological terms, so that the chance discovery of a significant population of this plant in Leiria, has rise to the rapid intervention of Quercus and the authorities, including the Office for the Protection of Nature of GNR, Institute for Nature Conservation and Forestry (ICNF) and the County of Leiria .
This whole adventure began, by mere chance, when some responsable of the environmental organization passed along a terrain in Pouzos, which was being prepared in terms of soil for the planting of eucalyptus, after verified the existence of a substantial core of this small flower Quercus immediately before the permanent loss of this heritage of rare flora mobilized to the acquisition of the 10,500 square meters of land and established a microreserve that ensured the survival of nearly a thousand specimens presumed to exist at the site. This process led to the creation of a site of Community importance of Azabuxo - Leiria , in the district of Leiria and their subsequent integration into the natura network.
