Plants in Danger
Endangered plants need people’s help to survive. A species, or kind, of plant is endangered when it is seriously close to disappearing, or becoming extinct. Scientists think that as many as 20,000 different kinds of plants are endangered.
Rafflesia is one of the world’s most endangered plants because the rain forests in which it lives are being destroyed. The giant rafflesia has the largest flower in the world. It grows up to 90 centimetres wide, and it smells like rotten meat! The smell attracts the flies that pollinate the flower.
For many years, scientists believed that the Virginia round-leaf birch and a type of Australian elaeocarpus tree were extinct. Then, in 1975, a scientist found a group of round-leaf birches alive and well. Since then, people have worked to protect the round-leaf birch.
In 1992, scientist discovered that elaeocarpus trees were still alive, too, growing in the rain forest of New South Wales. They have found more than 100 elaeocarpus trees in the wild since then.
Picture Credit : Google