Nearly half of all plants threatened with extinction

Millions of undescribed plants and fungi species may already be under threat from extinction, researchers at London's Kew Gardens said on Tuesday, calling for urgent action to protect them. In London’s Kew Gardens, scientists study thousands of wonderful samples of fungi from all over the world, hoping they can help to unlock new medicines and inform more about global ecosystems.

At the sprawling Royal Botanic Gardens in the southwest of the British capital, teams are working hard to identify newly discovered species to help speed up their conservation. According to the publication of the “State of the World’s Plants and Fungi 2023”, they estimated the total number of species of fungi is around 2.5 million, with only around 150,000 species described so far.