The CEU San Pablo University Botanical research teamhas discovered a previously uncatalogued new species for Science in the Iberian Peninsula. Professors José Alfredo Vicente-Orellana and Antonio Galán de Mera have published this discovery in the Italian Botanical Society journal Plant Biosystems. Professor Vicente-Orellana explains that the new species was found after long comparative studies. “We have concluded that several populations located in the Sierra of Guadarrama constitute a new species for science called Rubus carpetanus. As strange as it may seem, this means that the number of species of brambles in the Iberian Peninsula increases to 28".

Vicente-Orellana explains, “the bush is located in the mountains of Madrid, meaning it also currently affects the provinces of Ávila and Segovia. Its name comes from the geographic location of these mountains restricted to as little as 1200 and 1900m, and it is used to the mild summers and cold winters of the sierra. It is commonly found on the edges of streams and wet ditches in the pine forests of the sierra”. Due to their thorny nature these communities provide refuge for animals, a place to nest and to create burrows. It also serves them as food at the end of the summer.

As the researchers explain, “since most of the populations are located in the Guadarrama National Park and the Cuenca Alta of Manzanares Regional Park, their conservation does not seem to be in danger, although they should be classified as vulnerable and have a plan of proper handling”. Rubus carpetanus has a beneficial chemical composition for health, “we have seen that the phytochemical composition of this species has a higher content of phenolic compounds than other wild and cultivated blackberries; which translates into greater antioxidant activity and can help prevent cardiovascular diseases or cancer”.

This is not the first time that the CEU USP botanical team, which has over 200 publications, has discovered a new species in this territory. In 2012, as Vicente-Orellana explains, "we had the opportunity to discover a new species of dandelion: Taraxacum penyalarense, also from the high areas near Peñalara".