The Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development will support all activities aimed at preserving and protecting Petrolamium crnojevicii, said the relevant Minister Damjan Ćulafić.
According to the Ministry, he spoke at the promotion of the discovery of a new genus and species, Petrolamium crnojevicii.
"For us, as the Ministry, this discovery has much more meaning than scientific news. It is confirmation that Montenegro's natural resources are not just a thing of the past or tourist brochures, but that we, as a society, are responsible for recognizing, protecting and nurturing them," said Ćulafić.
He said that Petrolamium crnojevicii speaks of how precious every stone, every rock, every locality in the country is.
"The Ministry will provide full support to all activities aimed at preserving and protecting Petrolamium crnojevicii. In cooperation with scientific institutions, the Natural History Museum and partners, we will work to ensure that this plant receives the attention and protection it deserves," said Ćulafić.
He thanked everyone who participated in this discovery, professors, researchers, partners.
"We also owe special thanks to botanists Snežana Dragićević, Snežana Vuksanović and Boštjan Surina, who made a great contribution to this discovery. Their work and dedication are a reminder that top science often begins in the field, in the silence of nature, with a view of the rocks, with a notebook, a magnifying glass and a lot of patience," said Ćulafić.
The President of the Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts, Ljubiša Stanković, said that for a very long time, the karst around Cetinje hid the secret of this plant, in a very small area.
"A plant with a small population, but very special, has survived and endured for millennia, just like the people of this area for centuries. Thanks to the tireless dedication and keen eye of our exceptional scientists, this precious secret has been discovered," said Stanković.
According to him, a new species of plant has once again been discovered for science from the flora of Montenegro.
"And not just a species, a higher taxonomic category has been discovered - a genus, which is a rarity nowadays, especially when it comes to well-studied families such as the labiate family to which Petrolamium belongs, but also well-known plants such as fennel, mint, and thyme, whose representatives have medicinal properties," said Stanković.
He added that it is a real rarity nowadays, in an area such as well-explored Europe, to discover not just a new genus, but even a species.
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