The Sicilian fir has been the subject of a concerted conservation programme to protect this rare and unique local species. The remaining wild trees occur within a Regional Park; grazing and visitor numbers in the valley are carefully controlled, and the trees are monitored and fenced off (3). In addition, an ex-situ conservation programme has been established and has produced around 110,000 trees that are available for replanting. To date, replanting efforts have met with little success but scientists at the University of Palermo are investigating this species’ optimum ecological conditions in an effort to rectify this (3). The rare Sicilian fir is a flagship species for the wealth of endemic flora found on this island (3).