Above: A tree now named Acacia fumosa covers thousands
of square kilometers of the limestone hills in Ethiopia’s
Ogaden region. Yet botanists had never named the tree
until 2008. The new species bears pink flowers in the dry
season, unlike most acacias, which produce yellow or cream
blooms in the wet season.Credit: Thulin (ScienceNews).

By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent

OSLO, April 23 (Reuters) – A tree that covers a large area of eastern Ethiopia but has only recently been categorised by botanists raises hope for finding new species elsewhere, experts said. The acacia fumosa tree, which grows in an area the size of the island of Crete, was not “found” for scientific purposes until 2006-7, mostly likely because its main habitat is a war zone. Read More.