Posts tagged “Environment”

Threatened Thursday

Commindendrum rotundifolium, the Bastard Gumwood, was native to Saint Helena, but there are no longer any that survive in the wild.  One was discovered in the wild in the 80s, but it has since been destroyed in a gale.  The Royal Botanic Gardens at Edinburgh contain the only living specimens of this tree. While propagation […]

Stinkin’ Extinction

It’s time for your extinct plant of the week!  This week is a little less depressing than the last few.  Clermontia peleana are flowering trees in the bellflower family.  Many Clermontias have beautiful, showy flowers frequented by birds. Clermontia peleana isn’t actually completely extinct, though it is in pretty serious trouble.  While one of the […]

Who cares if some scraggly weed goes extinct?

I mentioned in the first Extinction Thursday why you should care about the extinction of seemingly insignificant plants.  Jared Diamond puts it much better in his book Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed: But biodiversity losses of small inedible species often provoke the response, “Who cares? Do you really care less for humans […]

And the Winner Is….

Everybody! I’m feeling uncharacteristically indecisive and couldn’t make up my mind for the Extinction Thursdays competition.  I’ll just use a different one each week!  As for the prizes – everyone who made a suggestion should email me a mailing address.

Extinction Thursday – New Year’s Edition

What better way to start the new year than by reminding ourselves of what we’ve done wrong? Betula szaferi is a kind of birch tree that no longer exists in the wild.  Before this particular species went extinct, it hybridized with Betula pendula to form the species Betula oycoviensis, so in a way it’s survived. […]

Extinction Thursday – Christmas Edition

I’ve been trying to come up with a catchier title than “Extinction Thursday.”  I’ve failed.  So, readers, it’s up to you.  Leave your title in the comments.  Since it’s Christmas, I’ll offer a present: If I pick yours I’ll send you a CD of my favorite music.  Best prize ever, right? On to the extinction […]

Extinction Thursday

After Tuesday’s post on the gutted Endangered Species Act, I’ve decided to make such depressing news a regular feature.  Every Thursday (or so) I’m going to feature a plant that’s gone extinct recently and tell you why.  No, I’m not trying to make you cry, but I do hope you’ll do something. This week on […]