New Peruvian plant named after Lionel Messi
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Researchers in Peru named a newly discovered plant species ‘salvia messii’ in honor of Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi.
The plant, which grows on rocky slopes in the central Peruvian Andes between 2,000 and 2,400 meters above sea level, features white and light blue flowers resembling the Argentinian national team jersey.
Paúl Gonzáles of the National University of San Marcos Natural History Museum, Rolando Uría, and Jean Capcha Ramos of Huarango Nature identified the plant during field explorations from 2023 to 2025, carefully measuring flower variations in the laboratory. The ‘salvia messii’ is a fragrant shrub reaching up to 1.5 meters in height and belongs to the Lamiaceae family, which includes common herbs like basil and mint.
Experts classified the plant as “endangered” due to threats from wildfires, road construction, and droughts in the Andean regions of Peru. The discovery adds to growing evidence of the biological importance of shrublands surrounding relic forests in the western Andes, areas that may harbor many unique plant species. This new species joins other organisms named after Messi, including a fungus, a spider, a lizard, a prehistoric condor, and a prehistoric brachiopod.
