Magnolias face extinction

CNN reported on 10 Apr that up to half of the world's magnolia species are in danger of extinction, according to a new study by conservationists.

Magnolias are one of the oldest species of flowering plants. They have survived all sorts of geological and climactic upheavals in the past, and thus provide a good indicator to the overall health of the wider forest. Plants tend to be taken for granted; it's a little green blindness. There's always the emphasis on saving animals, but if you don't save the plants then everything will go extinct.

The Red List of the Magnoliaceae, produced jointly by Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) and Fauna & Flora International (FFI) following a global mapping project by researchers at the UK's Bournemouth University, identifies 131 endangered species from a worldwide total of 245. Some two-thirds of magnolias are found in Asia but the subtropical plant also thrives in the parts of the U.S. and South America.

Widespread deforestation posed the biggest risk to magnolias in the wild. Exploitation of certain species for medicine, timber and food places an extra strain on the species. Many of the most critically affected species are found in China, including Magnolia phanerophlebia, of which only around 200 trees are estimated to exist in the wild and Magnolia sinica, believed to have a single population of fewer than 10 mature trees. Both species grow exclusively in Yunnan province -- now the focus of an extensive re-planting campaign organized by FFI.