Environment

Our Vanishing Plants

Scientists at Britain’s Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew say that nearly 800 plant species around the world have disappeared since the 18th century, while thousands of others are so diminished that they are rare or can no longer reproduce.

“Most plant extinctions happen silently,” with plant populations often disappearing without notice until their absence begins to affect nature, said Kew conservation researcher Eimear Nic Lughadha. She adds that little is known about what other species in the wild might depend on from the vanishing plants, or the long-term effects of their disappearances. A study published in 2019 said about two plant species vanish each year on average — 500 times the average rate of extinction in nature.