Explore the state of the world's plant life
The IUCN Red List Index is our ‘Barometer of Life’: it captures the status of life on earth at a particular time. It can also tell us how this changes over time – whether things are improving or getting worse. The IUCN Sampled Red List Index for Plants is an extension of the IUCN Red List Index to include species from this less well known group of organisms.
From the results of the IUCN Sampled Red List Index for Plants, it is possible to say for the first time which plants are more threatened, where and why. Find out more about the IUCN Red List Index categories and criteria.
Use our interactive map to discover more about our findings and explore the state of plant life around the world. Delve deeper into the data with our interactive charts and find out which plant group is the most endangered, which habitats host the highest proportion of plants at risk and what poses the biggest threat to plant life today. Is it man or nature?
Help Kew save plants at risk - Adopt a seed for £25 or save an entire plant species outright.
Explore the state of plant life
Use Kew's interactive map to explore the state of the world's plant life and find out more about plants at risk.
- See an overview of the state of plant life world wide.
- Find out more about where plants are at risk.
- See global hotspots where plant life is unique to specific regions.
- See the level of confidence we have in the data for each country.
Interactive map - explore the state of the world's plant life.
What are the threats?
Deforestation in Madagascar, conversion of forest to rice - Photo A. McRobb
22% of plant species already face the threat of extinction. Our research also tells us that it is the impact of human actions and activity that poses the greatest threat to plant diversity today. How do we know that plants are threatened?
Use our chart and take a closer look at the data collected as part of this research. Find out just how great a threat human-induced activities are to the future of plant life.
How much plant life is at risk?
For the first time ever, it is now possible to say which groups of plants are more threatened, where and why. Our research shows that more than 20% of the world's plants are threatened with extinction.
Five major plant groups have been included in the IUCN Sampled Red List Index for Plants.
Use Kew's interactive chart to find out the proportion of all plant species that are threatened and compare the level of threat facing different plant groups.
Which habitats are endangered?
Reserve boundary in Madagascar's dry forest.
Use this chart to find out about the proportion of plant species under threat of extinction in different habitats.
Which world regions host the largest proportion of endangered plant life on Earth? Which type of habitat is home to the greatest number of threatened plant species? Which countries and continents are classed Least Concern? Find out more about the IUCN Red List Index categories and criteria.
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