Biodiversity
From sweet potatoes
to orchids
First annual report
for plants
A global assessment
Professor Kathy Willis, Director of Science at RBG, Kew.
Credit: Jason Baron (BBC)
T
he Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew recently released
the first ever annual report on the State of the
World’s Plants, ahead of the international
science and policy symposium on the topic. It makes
absolutely essential reading for farmers and anyone
involved in irrigation or cultivation of plants. It includes
fascinating information – such as predicting that yams
and cassava will be amongst the most “climate smart”
plants in Africa, and that a massive 21% of plants are
at threat of extinction. A new type of plant, we learn
was also discovered, would you believe, on Facebook.
The first annual State of the World’s Plants report, which involved
more than 80 scientists and took a year to produce, is a baseline
assessment of current knowledge on the diversity of plants on
earth, the global threats these plants currently face, as well as the
policies in place and their effectiveness in dealing with threats.
“This is the first ever global assessment on the state of the world’s
plants. We already have a ‘State of the World’s …birds, seaturtles, forests, cities, mothers, fathers, children even antibiotics’
but not plants. I find this remarkable given the importance of
plants to all of our lives– from food, medicines, clothing, building
materials and biofuels, to climate regulation. This report therefore
provides the first step in filling this critical knowledge gap.” said
Professor Kathy Willis, Director of Science at the Royal Botanic
Gardens, Kew at the report launch on Monday.
Work together
“But to have effect, the findings must serve to galvanise the
international scientific, conservation, business and governmental
communities to work together to fill the knowledge gaps we’ve
highlighted and expand international collaboration, partnerships
and frameworks for plant conservation and use,” she added.
The status of plants outlined in the report is based on the most
up to date knowledge from around the world as of 2016 and is
divided into three sections;
• Describing the world’s plants,
• Global threats to plants and
• Policies and international trade.
Naming and counting
The first section focuses on the diversity of plants on earth, noting
that there are now an estimated 391,000 vascular plants known
to science of which 369,000 are flowering plants – with around
2,000 new vascular plant species described annually. Some of
the most exciting were found during fieldwork while many others
were detected only after they have already been preserved and
filed as herbarium specimens and a few have been discovered in
the glasshouses at Kew.
SABI | JUNE/JULY 2016
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Oberholzeria
This is perhaps the most exciting legume discovery of 2015.
Credit: Wessel Swanepoel
One of the largest carnivorous plants known (1.5m in height),
a new insect-eating plant of the sundew genus called Drosera
magnifica was even first discovered on Facebook. Eighteen new