Myriad Myrcias in many shades of green
c. 700 species in genus Myrcia are en route from unknown to understood
Myriad MyrciasKew’s Plant Assessment Unit
Accelerating the identification of plants threatened with extinction and increasing the knowledge available on the conservation status of less well-represented groups on the IUCN Red List.
In 2016, a five-year collaboration between Toyota and IUCN was initiated which aims to deliver critically important assessments of wild species for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. As part of this five-year collaboration, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew created a Plant Assessment Unit (PAU), where dedicated staff provide a focal point for Kew’s scientists working on conservation assessments. Addressing the need to accelerate the assessment of species in tropical regions, the team support the preparation and publication of extinction risk assessments on the IUCN Red List.
Identifying species at risk is a central goal for conservation. In the face of accelerating biodiversity loss and limited resources, assessment of the extinction risk of species is essential for conservation priority-setting. These assessments can be used to assist governments and conservation organisations to prioritise and guide effective conservation action and inform policy makers.
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew provides unique taxonomic expertise and data acquired over decades as the basis for conservation assessments. With the help of Kew scientists, over the five years, we plan to add assessments of over 4,000 species to the Red List, ranging from global assessments of major groups to studies focused on the endemic species of conservation concern in a particular country. Key outputs will include a global assessment of Coffea, which ranks second only to oil in terms of value of globally traded commodities; a global assessment of Cola, an African tree genus which includes the source of the 'secret' ingredient in popular soft drinks and a global assessment of Myrcia, a Neotropical genus of trees and shrubs which form an important component of the diversity in some of Brazil's most threatened habitats.
Assessing the extinction risk of plants at Kew and beyond
Assessing the extinction risk of species is key to understanding the current status of Earth’s biodiversity
Extinction risk of plants
The tremendous tree ferns of New Guinea
Tree ferns are a Chelsea Flower Show staple. But there is more to them than the one species, Dicksonia antarctica...
Tree ferns
Timber! The threat to Cameroon’s Ebo forest
Ebo forest in Cameroon, home to many unique, rare and threatened species, is under imminent threat from extensive logging.
Ebo Forest
The 'umbrella plant' in New Guinea
More than just a houseplant, our Plant Assessment Unit have been assessing the extinction threat of Schefflera species in New Guinea.
Umbrella plant
Brazil’s secret gardens
Around 15 per cent of Brazil's plants are found in the campo rupestre - one of the most species rich areas in the country.
Secret gardens
Summer, science and suspicious scents
Discovering why plants matter in the Red Alert tent at Kew Science Festival 2019.
Summer, science and suspicious scents
Assessing the ice cream bean
Kew has completed extinction risk assessments for Colombian Ingas, aka the ice cream bean.
Ice cream bean
Saving endangered species
On Endangered Species Day we celebrate two and a half years of Kew’s Plant Assessment Unit.
Saving endangered species
Kew Science contributes to landmark analysis of global biodiversity
Kew Science contributes to major new report that shows the state of global biodiversity.
Global biodiversity report
Kew and the fight against extinction
How Kew is fighting extinction of plants.
Kew's fight against extinction
A high extinction threat for wild coffee could rattle the sector
What might the threat of extinction mean for the future of coffee farming?
A high extinction threat for wild coffeeDepartment
Project Leader
Team
Amy Barker
Steven P. Bachman
Helen Chadburn
Colin P. Clubbe
Serene Hargreaves
Nic Lughadha, E., Walker, B.E., Canteiro, C., Chadburn, H., Davis, A.P., Hargreaves, S., Lucas, E.J., Schuiteman, A., Williams, E. Bachman, S.P., Baines, D., Barker, A., Budden, A.P., Carretero, J., Clarkson, J.J., Roberts, A. & Rivers, M.C. (2019)
The use and misuse of herbarium specimens in evaluating plant extinction risks
Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 374(1763)
Davis, A. P., Chadburn, H., Moat, J., O’Sullivan, R., Hargreaves, S., & Lughadha, E. N. (2019).
High extinction risk for wild coffee species and implications for coffee sector sustainability.
Science advances, 5(1), eaav3473.
Brummitt, N.A., Bachman, S.P., Griffiths-Lee, J., Lutz, M., Moat, J.F., Farjon, A., Donaldson, J.S., Hilton-Taylor, C., Meagher, T.R., Albuquerque, S. & Aletrari, E. (2015)
Green plants in the red: a baseline global assessment for the IUCN sampled Red List Index for plants
PloS ONE 10(8), p.e0135152
International
- Toyota
UK
- IUCN