Endangered plants unlike anything else on earth prioritised for conservation action

Officially launched today (Friday 05 October), the updated 2022 results provide a startling view of the precarious status of the planet’s plant life. As the world faces unprecedented climate events, from heatwaves, to droughts, to floods, the conservation of trees is crucial. One of the planet’s most efficient carbon stores, trees provide unique and unparalleled ecosystem services, and this list provides first-of-its-kind guidance on which species should be protected as a matter of urgency.

Number one on the list, the Maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba) is native to China and wild populations of this species are facing extinction due to human overexploitation, despite the species being widely cultivated. The loss of this tree spells disaster for the species which rely on it in its natural habitat, including leopards and badgers.

Coming in at a close second is the ancient Wollemi Pine (Wollemia nobilis), a species said to have ‘risen from the dead’ as it was only known from the fossil record until 1994, when a living tree was discovered in a remote gorge of the Wollemi National Park, Australia. With only 80 mature individuals now thought to remain in the wild, this Critically Endangered ‘Lazarus’ species is highly threatened by climate change-induced wildfire and was saved by firefighters from the infamous Australian wildfires of 2020.

Alongside rare and lesser-known species such as the Chinese swamp cyprus (Glyptostrobus pensilis) is the Monkey Puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana)– a common sight in gardens around the world, but alarmingly ranked number eight on the list, and under threat from fires and encroachment from commercial plantations.

Other examples of well-known gymnosperms include the world’s largest tree, the giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum). The giant sequoia, which is the sole living species in its genus, can live for more than 3,000 years and grow up to 100 metres tall. Animals such as the white-headed woodpecker, pacific tree frog and the northern flying squirrel all live and rely on the sequoia tree. It exists now mainly in protected areas on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range but is currently at high risk of extinction from fires.

Several of these priority EDGE species can be found at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in London. In a recent study led by a senior researcher at Kew, Dr Félix Forest, which formed the basis for the EDGE gymnosperm list, it was explained that gymnosperms are among the most threatened living organisms on the planet, with 40% of their species at high risk of extinction. This is about twice as many as the most recent estimates for all plants. It is also higher than that recorded for birds and mammals. Due to their unique traits, losing any one of these species would mean that there would be nothing left on earth like them.

Through a two-year fellowship ZSL’s EDGE of Existence programme, in collaboration with Foundation Franklinia, are training and supporting future conservation leaders (EDGE Fellows) to implement conservation action on these unique and threatened plants. This ensures special and localised conservation attention for gymnosperms and the first projects, starting this year, focus on threatened species found in Asia. Among the species receiving dedicated conservation attention are the Eastern Himalayan yew (Taxus wallichiana), chemical compounds from which are used in anti-cancer treatments, and Maire’s yew (Taxus mairei), whose twigs and leaves are used to make wine and tea. Both species are threatened by overexploitation.

As we approach a landmark season for nature with global conferences such as CBD COP15 on the horizon, ZSL is calling for world leaders to put nature at the heart of all global decision making and ensure biodiversity loss is part of wider policy decision-making. You can support ZSL global science and conservation work by visiting www.zsl.org

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