And not to be outdone, RBG Kew has lots of newly named plants too.
Top 10 plant and fungal species named new to science in 2022 - Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
Annual list pays tribute to lives lost and honours valiant efforts to protect threatened biodiversity hotspots.
- Kew Science highlights 10 species of plants and fungi they’ve named new to science in 2022
- Total of 90 plants and 24 fungi described by botanists and mycologists
- Many are rare species already threatened with extinction or only exist in single locations
- Highlights include a rare species named after Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, a rainforest tree honouring an assassinated environmentalist, and an endangered plant threatened by a pigeon colony
Scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and partners across the globe present their pick of top 10 plant and fungal species named new to science at Kew in 2022.
From a record-breaking giant waterlily in the wetlands of Bolivia to a waterfall-dwelling plant deemed extinct before it was named and a Ukrainian-discovered Turkish ‘winter daffodil’ with non-opening flowers; RBG Kew’s annual list sheds light on the wonders, complexities and rarities of the natural world. This year’s showstoppers are particularly poignant as they pay tribute to those who laid their lives down for the sake of protecting the planet’s biodiversity.
Approximately 90 plants and 24 fungi have been named this year by RBG Kew and partners alone, with new species hailing from the rainforests of central Africa, the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, and even the caves of SE Asia. Many of these discoveries represent extremely rare species already threatened with extinction, some of which only exist in single locations and at least one is considered already globally extinct.
By heading out into the field with our international partners to discover, characterise, and name new species to science of plants and fungi, scientists at Kew are aiding worldwide efforts to halt and reverse the global biodiversity crisis, with two in five plants estimated to be at risk of extinction.
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Posted On: 03/01/2023