One third of all plant species kept safe in botanical gardens

♦ One third of the world’s plant species are now housed in botanical gardens including 41 per cent of threatened varieties, the first ever audit has found.

The study by Cambridge University discovered that more than 90 per cent of plant families are now protected globally, which academics have hailed as a major conservation success.

However, the researchers found an imbalance between temperate and tropical regions. About 60 per cent of temperate plant species were represented in botanic gardens but only 25 per cent of tropical species, despite the fact most plant species are tropical.

“The global network of botanic gardens is our best hope for saving some of the world’s most endangered plants,” said Dr Samuel Brockington, a researcher at the university’s plant sciences department and a curator at its botanic garden. “There is no technical reason why any species should become extinct.” The research was published in Nature Plants.