Warning of habitat threat to plants

More than a fifth of the world's plants are under threat of extinction, a global assessment revealed. The analysis indicates that the estimated 380,000 plant species found on Earth are as much at risk of disappearing as the planet's mammals and are more under threat than birds.

Plants are most at risk from the destruction of their habitat by humans, according to the assessment by scientists at Kew, the Natural History Museum and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The study, the Sampled Red List Index for Plants, indicates that some 80,000 to 100,000 plants could be at risk of extinction globally – more than 50 times the number of species known to be native to the British Isles. The study looked at a representative sample of 7,000 plants. Research found 22 per cent of 4,000 species were classified as critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable to extinction.

A further 10 per cent of plants including the humble snowdrop may be threatened without conservation action.