State of the World's Plants - RBG Kew report

[Gabriela]

I didn't get through all of it yet; maybe someone else is interested in browsing this report:
https://stateoftheworldsplants.com/

[Tim Ingram]

Thanks Gabriela. I saw similar reference by the RSPB on Facebook but haven't yet looked at this in more detail. (A general concern for the environment runs through everything we do in the garden anyway, especially after reading books like 'Silent Spring' and Anthony Huxley's 'Plant and Planet').

[Maggi Young]

Kew scientist Noeleen Smyth highlights the latest discussions regarding the international trade of wild plants.

http://www.kew.org/discover/blogs/kew-science/cites-cop17-plants-recent-decisions-global-trade

[ian mcdonald]

I wonder about tree ferns from New Zealand. How many are actually "saved" from human "development" and sold on? Why not re-route the development and save tree ferns in-situ?

[Gabriela]

I would not start another discussion about conservation here. To note that the report starts with what’s important first – ‘Describing the world’s plants’ and ‘New plant discoveries’…The talk about the conservation comes afterwards.

Reading through it brought to my mind the term ‘plant blindness’ coined by Wandersee & Schussler, which is ‘visible’ at any level of society (at least the North American).
Not even the newly giant 1,5 m Drosera magnifica!!! made the headlines ( maybe it did on FB), while every ‘little’ new animal species newly discovered gets posted everywhere.