Zelkova sicula is a species of Zelkova

Zelkova

Zelkova is a genus of six species of deciduous trees in the elm family Ulmaceae, native to southern Europe, and southwest and eastern Asia. They vary in size from shrubs to large trees up to 35 m tall . The leaves are alternate, with serrated margins, and a symmetrical base to the leaf blade...

in the family Ulmaceae

Ulmaceae

Ulmaceae is a family of flowering plant that includes the elms , and the zelkovas . Members of the family are widely distributed throughout the north temperate zone, and have a scattered distribution elsewhere except for Australasia.The family was formerly sometimes treated to include the...

, endemic to Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

.

It is a deciduous

Deciduous

Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...

 shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

 growing to 2–3 m tall; its natural mature size is unknown, as all existing specimens have been heavily browsed by goat

Goat

The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...

s, limiting their growth. The leaves

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 are oval, 1–5 cm long and 0.5–3.5 cm broad, with a petiole 1–4 mm long; the margins are lobed, with six to eight lobes on each side.

The only known population, found on 1991, consists of 200-250 plants growing on the Monti Iblei area, in Buccheri

Buccheri

Buccheri is a town and comune in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily ....

, in southeast Sicily near Syracuse; they are all thought to derive from possibly just one clone

Clonal colony

A clonal colony or genet is a group of genetically identical individuals that have grown in a given location, all originating vegetatively from a single ancestor. In plants, an individual in such a population is referred to as a ramet...

, or at the most only a very few distinct individuals. Its natural habitat

Habitat

* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...

 is temperate forest

Forest

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

s and Mediterranean-type shrub vegetation. It is threatened by habitat loss. The IUCN list this species as Critically Endangered.