Researchers name newly discovered Andean plant after Argentina legend Lionel Messi

Argentine footballer Lionel Messi retired from international football earlier this month, having won every possible accolade in the sport, and now he has a plant named after him. Messi has been honored by a recently discovered plant named after him in a one-of-a-kind tribute. The plant, found in the Andes mountain range of central and southern Peru in South America, has also been classified as an endangered species. The plant's status was defined in the October edition of the botany journal Phytotaxa as it faces a "restrictive distribution."

Messi gets a plant named after him

The plant has been named Salvia messii after the research and naming decision was reached by a trio of researchers: Paul Gonzales, of the Natural History Museum of the National University of San Marcos, Argentine researcher Rolando Uria, and biologist Jean Capcha Ramos, from Huarango Nature.

The plant has white and light blue flowers, similar to Argentina's jersey, which Messi wore 208 times (scoring 126 goals) while playing for his country. He played his last match earlier this month against Benin and even scored a goal in a 3-0 victory.

The plant was named using Latin botanical nomenclature, and the extra 'i' after Messi shows that it is named after a person. When translated, Salvia messii means Messi's plant.

Messi's numbers for Argentina

Messi started playing for Argentina in 2005 when he faced Hungary on August 17. He had briefly retired in 2016 but then came back to enjoy the most successful stint of his career - winning the Copa America in 2021 and 2024, and the FIFA World Cup in 2022. Messi appeared in six FIFA World Cups and scored 18 goals. He won the prestigious Ballon d'Or award eight times and finished behind his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo (146 in 234 games) in terms of international goals.