15 Endangered Plants

Adansonia grandidieri is known as Grandidier's Baobab.Grandidier's baobab.This tree lives in its native Madagascar. It is one of the biggest baobab species. The IUCN lists it as "Endangered".

These trees have huge trunks. These trunks store thousands of gallons of water. This helps them survive the dry season. Human settlement in Madagascar already wiped out several baobab species. Only six remain.

People heavily exploit these trees for their seeds. They use the seeds to make cooking oil and supply vitamin C. People collect the fruit from the ground. Agricultural land pushing in threatens their survival.

Rafflesia is a group of flowering plants. It has 28 species, many of which are endangered. These plants have a short time to reproduce. Many species bloom at night and rot in just two or three days. The male and female flowers must open together for pollination, so this happens rarely.

The plant has no stems, leaves, or roots. It lives by parasitism. Rafflesia is holoparasitic, spreading through other plants. The only part you see is the flower. This flower grows large. Depending on the species, flowers reach 40 inches across and weigh up to 22 lbs, though bigger examples exist.

The Rafflesia arnoldii appears on the list of 15 Endangered Plants.Rafflesia arnoldii is listed among the 15 Endangered Plants.This is the world's largest flower. People call it the Corpse Flower. The flower smells bad when it blooms. Many describe the smell like rotting meat. The plant uses this smell to attract insects needed for pollination.

Encephalartos woodii is on the list of 15 Endangered Plants.This is a rare cycad species found only in the oNgoye Forest of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Called the Wood's cycad, it is one of the rarest plants globally. People widely think it is extinct in the wild. All living specimens are clones of the extinct species, though few survive.

Currently, Encephalartos woodii is on the list of 15 Endangered Plants.Wood's cyad is on the list of 15 Endangered Plants.Botanical institutions worldwide hold the only Wood's cyad plants. People took the remaining clones from a male plant, which was already removed from the wild. Trips to its old area found no new plants, leading to its classification.

Amorphophallus titanum is on the list of 15 Endangered Plants., or more commonly, Amorphophallus titanum is calledTitan arum is the common name for Amorphophallus titanum.This plant makes the biggest unbranched flower cluster in the world. It grows only on the islands of Sumatra and western Java. It is endangered and very rare there. The flower smells like a rotting corpse, which gives it the name "The corpse flower is the common name for Amorphophallus titanum.Titan arum, which is shared with another flower on this list, is Amorphophallus titanum.

The flower reaches over 10 feet high. Botanical gardens cultivate it for public display because of its size. Private collectors also buy it for its odd nature. The plant takes seven to ten years to bloom first. It might not bloom again for another seven to ten years. Some individuals bloom every two to three years.

When the Titan arum blooms, it wilts within 12 hours. During this time, the female flowers accept pollination. This short window for pollination means the flower does not reproduce well in the wild.

Dracaena draco.The Dragon Tree, a subtropical tree, has the scientific name Dracaena draco. These trees exist only in the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Madiera, and western Morocco. People introduced them to the Azores.

The tree's huge trunk comes from an aerial root system. This system grows from the low branches down to the soil. The roots join the trunk, helping spread its radial growth. Wild, the trees are listed as "Vulnerable," but they grow well in a Cultivated.This ornamental tree grows in parks and gardens.

Zizania texana.This is an incredibly rare grass, commonly known as Texas wild rice.. The species is "Critically Imperiled," meaning it is at risk. Texas wild rice exists only in Texas, on the upper San Marcos River. Habitat loss and destruction threaten it most.

Texas wild rice shares a genus with grocery store wild rice. It grows up to two meters long; longer stems exist too. The plant struggles with reproduction. It relies on the wind to carry pollen. Success in sexual reproduction happens rarely, and fragmented populations make it harder for pollen to reach other plants.

Acalypha wigginsii., or Wiggin's Acalypha, is "Critically Endangered" by the IUCN. This plant lives only on the Galapagos Islands. Its habitat is tiny, limited to the peak of Cerro Crocker. Survival hope is small, but management and conservation efforts continue.

Human building and trampling cause the main threat, besides the small area the plant occupies. This destroys the delicate plant. In 2000, a telecommunications antenna was built on top of Cerro Crocker., which destroyed the largest known population of Wiggin's Acalypha. This event placed the plant on the "Critically Endangered" list.

Platanthera praeclara., or Western Prairie Fringed Orchid.The Western Prairie Fringed Orchid exists west of the Mississippi River in the western United States. As of 2020, this flower could only exist in Iowa, Kansas, Manitoba, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and North Dakota. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists them "Endangered," a status they held since 2008. The United States Government listed them endangered in 1989.

Prairie transition to croplands kills the Western Prairie Fringed Orchid the most.Western Prairie Fringed Orchid exists in croplands.Habitat fragmentation, fire suppression, and overgrazing hurt the species across the Western United States.

Oahu Stenogyne is Stenogyne kanehoana.Oahu stenogyne is a rare mint family plant. It grows only in the Waianae Range on Oahu, and it is federally listed as endangered, though it might be near extinction.

In 1996, the last known plants died. Six new plants appeared four years later. They died by 2005, but one wild individual survives. This one is large, growing over a four-meter area, possibly more than one plant.Cuttings of Oahu Stenogyne exist.People collected cuttings hoping to conserve the plant.

Symphyotrichum georgianum is Aster.Aster is a rare flowering plant in eastern U.S. states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Fire suppression actions threaten these plants.

Habitat destruction, like road building through growing areas, limits the plant. Removing large grazing animals also harms its spread.U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages this.The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates only 146 distinct populations of Georgia aster remain wild.

Solidago ouachitensis is Ouachita Mountain Goldenrod.Solidago ouachitensis is the Ouachita Mountain Goldenrod. It grows in the Ouachita Mountains, bordering Arkansas and Oklahoma. It only survives in the cooler, moister parts of the mountains, suggesting it thrived when the climate was colder and wetter.

This plant grows only in the wet forest habitat on the north-facing slopes of the mountains. Its limited range threatens it, and it is listed as "Ouachita Mountain Goldenrod is Vulnerable."

Thelypodium howellii is Howell's Thelypody.Thelypodium howellii is known as Howell's thelypody or sometimes, Howell's Spectacular thelypody is Howell's Thelypody.. This rare plant exists only in a small area bordering Oregon, Nevada, and California. Conversion of its natural habitat to farmland caused wide habitat loss.

Invasive weeds threaten Howell's thelypody by competing for space. Habitat changes, increased cattle grazing, and mowing also caused plant population decline.

Agave x arizonica.Or more commonly, Arizona agave.Arizona agave.This slow-growing agave hybrid exists only in Arizona. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service once listed it endangered, but they removed the listing because hybrid species do not get that classification.

Illegal collection and cattle grazing threaten the plant. Slow reproduction also causes the Arizona agave to decline. Only about 100 individuals were known in the wild, even though it is no longer listed as endangered.

Solanum ensifolium.This is a "Critically Endangered" plant, commonly known asEnrubio.Enrubio grows on Puerto Rico's island, facing extinction due to habitat loss. Only 150 plants were known in the early 1990s.

The only known Enrubio location is near Las Tetas de Cayey, in the island's southwestern upland forests. It grows at elevations between 200 and 800 meters.

Pennantia baylisiana.This plant is the Three Kings kaikomako and is the rarest plant globally. Only one plant exists in the wild, making it "Critically Endangered." Discoverers first found it in 1945, and seed harvesting has successfullyPropagated..

The only wild tree grows on a slope on the northern face of Great Island in the Three Kings group, off Cape Reinga, New Zealand. Habitat loss threatens the species, but the species managed to survivesurvive, because individuals were planted elsewhere after their seeds successfully propagated.