An international team of biologists has for the first time applied the EDGE metric to angiosperms (flowering plants) and arrived at an alarming conclusion: about 3% of known flowering plant species carry more than 21% of the entire evolutionary history of this group. Their loss would be irreplaceable.

What EDGE is

The EDGE (Evolutionary Distinct and Globally Endangered) metric takes into account two factors simultaneously: how unique a species' evolutionary history is and how high its extinction risk is. The higher the score, the more valuable and vulnerable the plant.

Out of 335,497 known flowering plant species, 9,945 fell into the EDGE category. Among them are the rarest "jellyfish tree" Medusagyne oppositifolia from the Seychelles and Hondurodendron urceolatum, the only representative of its genus.

Why this is critical

Each such plant is not just a single species. It represents an entire evolutionary path millions of years long. The loss of EDGE species would mean an irreplaceable loss of genetic and evolutionary diversity. According to the authors' estimates, about 75% of as-yet-undescribed plants could also be threatened.

Botanist Ricky Gumbs from the Zoological Society of London emphasized that every plant is an irreplaceable living element that provides us with air and food.

What to do

Researchers from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, are calling for a shift in conservation priorities. Currently, the main focus is on charismatic animals. However, to preserve the planet's evolutionary history, it is necessary to primarily protect the most unique and vulnerable plants.

In brief

Scientists have applied the EDGE metric to flowering plants and found that 9,945 species (about 3% of the total) carry 21.2% of the entire evolutionary history of this group. Their loss would be irreplaceable. Among the most vulnerable are rare endemics such as the "jellyfish tree." Researchers are calling for conservation efforts to be reoriented toward these evolutionarily unique plants. The work was published in the journal Science.