With Valentine’s around the corner, many people have flowers on their minds. Afterall, what’s more synonymous with Valentine’s Day and love than flowers? Our planet’s plants hold significant value, from symbols of love and innocence, and nature, to medical, aesthetic, and cosmetic uses.
Plants are extremely diverse and resilient. They have adapted to thrive in deserts with limited water, underwater with no sunlight, and some can even grow without soil.
There are hundreds of thousands of plant species throughout the world, and likely many more that haven’t been discovered yet.
Animals and plants through the years have undergone tremendous evolutionary changes in order to survive, with many species having gone extinct. This is common, as species that are unable to adjust to new environments and challenges risk dying out.
Yet humans pose one of the greatest risks to the planet’s current species. Though climate change is normal and expected, since the planet is constantly changing, the rate at which it’s going at now is unprecedented. Global warming is mostly man-made, and it’s impacts are very visible.
Hundreds of animal species are at risk of extinction or have already gone extinct in the past few decades. Less mentioned but no less important is the threat of global warming on plant life.
Between rapid temperature shifts, unexpected fires, deforestation, and many other factors, plant species are struggling to keep up. It’s difficult to gauge when a species is ‘extinct’, since some species were already struggling when we found them, or are still around but we simply haven’t seen them. Sometimes, scientists rediscover a species thought extinct.
Extinction is still a large threat, however, and low numbers of a particular species can have a huge impact on the biomes they live in. This is especially true for species native to islands or particular areas, since those oftentimes don’t live anywhere else and are even more at-risk.
Flowers are extremely diverse and are found everywhere, from the great expanse of a forest to a homey garden in someone’s backyard. However, many flower species are going extinct. Some species, like the well-known venus fly trap and jade vine, are at risk of extinction.
Others include the world’s largest plant, the titan arum, also known as the corpse flower due to the smell it produces.
Aside from flowers, a recent study by the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) found that around 30% of the planet’s trees are at risk of extinction, with hundreds of species at the brink of extinction at the moment.
Many of these tree species have been around for thousands of years, but have faced continuous stress in the last few centuries. Some of these at-risk species include oak trees and maple trees, two very well-known species.
Trees, just like flowers, play an important role in ecosystems, providing shelter, food, and support to countless animals or other plants in the area. This means that the decreasing number of these species could also put many other species of plants and animals at risk.
Earth is full of incredible species, all of which serve important roles in their ecosystems, which also oftentimes has a direct impact on humans. Partly because of human activity in the past few centuries, these species have suffered, putting our biodiversity at risk. It’s our responsibility to ensure the survival of as many of these species as possible, and to continue taking steps to research, monitor, and protect our flora.
