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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
		<atom:link href="https://news.mongabay.com/feed/?topic=botany&#038;type=post" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/botany/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Mon, 03 Aug 2026 06:58:34 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>News on Botany</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/botany/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Humans’ relationship with nature: Interview with ethnobotanist Pavel Partha</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/humans-relationship-with-nature-interview-with-ethnobotanist-pavel-partha/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/humans-relationship-with-nature-interview-with-ethnobotanist-pavel-partha/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Jul 2026 22:56:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Usraat Fahmidah]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/13134413/Pavel-Partha-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323233</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Biodiversity, Biology, Botany, Conservation, Culture, Development, Ecology, Environment, Fellows, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Mongabay.org, Plants, and Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Pavel Partha and I first crossed paths almost two years ago at a 2024 sit-in protest against the destruction of Panthakunja Park in Dhaka, the Bangladesh capital. In a makeshift tent that housed a few activists, his eccentricity stood out as the researcher made a detailed list of the plants, birds and species affected by [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Pavel Partha and I first crossed paths almost two years ago at a 2024 sit-in protest against the destruction of Panthakunja Park in Dhaka, the Bangladesh capital. In a makeshift tent that housed a few activists, his eccentricity stood out as the researcher made a detailed list of the plants, birds and species affected by the felling of trees. When I asked him why such documentation was necessary for a protest, he said the plants, trees and species that make up the ecosystem deserve recognition and justice too. Partha is a trained botanist. For almost two decades, he has researched Bangladesh&#8217;s plant diversity alongside the knowledge of Indigenous and local communities through ethnobotanical research (the study of human-plant relationships). But he is just as likely to be found at a protest advocating for the rights of Indigenous communities and the systems they depend on. He is currently the director of the  Bangladesh Resource Center for Indigenous Knowledge (BARCIK), where he has worked since 2003, and continues his research. For almost two decades, Pavel Partha has researched Bangladesh’s plant diversity alongside the knowledge of Indigenous and local communities through ethnobotanical research. Image by Usraat Fahmidah. In this interview with Mongabay, Partha reflects on his philosophies of research and activism, shares why ecological justice matters and expounds on how scientific research can support Indigenous communities facing environmental destruction. This interview has been edited for length and clarity and has been translated from Bangla. Mongabay: Where does this begin for you? Can you&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/humans-relationship-with-nature-interview-with-ethnobotanist-pavel-partha/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/humans-relationship-with-nature-interview-with-ethnobotanist-pavel-partha/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323233</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Peter Raven, botanist and advocate for biodiversity, has died, aged 89</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/peter-raven-botanist-and-advocate-for-biodiversity-has-died-aged-89/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/peter-raven-botanist-and-advocate-for-biodiversity-has-died-aged-89/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Apr 2026 00:18:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/27001539/peter_raven_mjacob-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318166</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Botany, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Mass Extinction, Obituary, and Plants]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Life on Earth is often described as a web, but for much of modern science it was catalogued as a ledger: names, specimens, distributions, relationships drawn in careful lines. Over the course of the 20th century, that ledger gave way to a more connected view. Plants and animals were no longer just entries in a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Life on Earth is often described as a web, but for much of modern science it was catalogued as a ledger: names, specimens, distributions, relationships drawn in careful lines. Over the course of the 20th century, that ledger gave way to a more connected view. Plants and animals were no longer just entries in a system; they were participants in it, shaping one another across deep time. The implications of that shift were not merely scientific. They pointed, more directly than before, to the role of a single species—our own—in altering the terms of that participation. Few scientists did more to define that transition, or to explain its consequences, than Peter Raven. Peter Hamilton Raven, who died last night, aged 89, was among the most influential botanists of the past century. Over a career that spanned more than six decades, he combined taxonomy, evolutionary biology and conservation into a coherent body of work: to understand the diversity of life, and to argue for its preservation with a clarity that was unusual among scientists of his generation. Peter Raven. Courtesy of the Missouri Botanical Garden He began with curiosity rather than doctrine. Born in Shanghai in 1936 to American parents, he spent his childhood in California after his family returned in the late 1930s. As a boy in San Francisco, he collected insects and then plants, drawn to the order that botany seemed to offer. The ranges of species were mapped; their forms could be compared. It was, as he later&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/peter-raven-botanist-and-advocate-for-biodiversity-has-died-aged-89/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/peter-raven-botanist-and-advocate-for-biodiversity-has-died-aged-89/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-318166</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Extinction—or just unseen? What Centinela reveals about biodiversity data gaps</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/extinction-or-just-unseen-what-centinela-reveals-about-biodiversity-data-gaps/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/extinction-or-just-unseen-what-centinela-reveals-about-biodiversity-data-gaps/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Mar 2026 00:59:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/27234141/Dracontium_croatii-168689532-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=316449</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Ecuador, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Botany, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Fragmentation, Habitat Loss, and Plants]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 1991, botanists Calaway Dodson and Alwyn Gentry advanced a striking proposition. Surveying a rapidly deforested ridge in western Ecuador, they suggested that dozens of plant species known only from that site—Centinela—had likely vanished with the forest. The idea was later distilled into the “Centinelan extinction hypothesis”: that habitat clearing can trigger the immediate, global [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 1991, botanists Calaway Dodson and Alwyn Gentry advanced a striking proposition. Surveying a rapidly deforested ridge in western Ecuador, they suggested that dozens of plant species known only from that site—Centinela—had likely vanished with the forest. The idea was later distilled into the “Centinelan extinction hypothesis”: that habitat clearing can trigger the immediate, global extinction of narrowly distributed species. It was a powerful claim. It gave a concrete example of how biodiversity loss might unfold in tropical forests, where many species appear rare, localized, and poorly documented. It also rested on a deeper uncertainty. In such systems, what has not been recorded is often treated as if it does not exist. A 2024 reassessment, published in Nature Plants, returns to Centinela using decades of additional collections and records. Drawing on herbarium records, literature, expert input, and targeted field surveys, the authors reconstruct what is known about the site’s flora. Their conclusion is straightforward. Nearly all of the species once thought endemic to Centinela have been found elsewhere. Of 98 putative microendemics, 99% are now known from other locations. Landscape of Centinela, Ecuador, and five plant species once hypothesized to have gone extinct in the region but now confirmed as extant. a, A typical landscape dominated by pasture and agriculture, with small remnant patches of forest (Photo by J. Nicolás Zapata). b–d, Herbs Gasteranthus extinctus (b), Gasteranthus atratus (Gesneriaceae) (c) and Dracontium croatii (Araceae) (d). e,f, Trees Browneopsis macrofoliolata (Fabaceae) (e) and Amyris centinelensis (Rutaceae) (f). Photos b–f by John&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/extinction-or-just-unseen-what-centinela-reveals-about-biodiversity-data-gaps/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/extinction-or-just-unseen-what-centinela-reveals-about-biodiversity-data-gaps/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-316449</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Too many African plants fall into the IUCN’s ‘not evaluated’ trap (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/too-many-african-plants-fall-into-the-iucns-not-evaluated-trap-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/too-many-african-plants-fall-into-the-iucns-not-evaluated-trap-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Jan 2026 16:41:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Victor Nsereko Wantate]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/20161805/Khaya_anthotheca_Big_Tree_Chirinda_Forest_Zimbabwe_04-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=313117</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Botany, Conservation, Dry Forests, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Plants, Rainforests, Research, Savannas, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Many African conservation decisions such as funding, policy, species prioritization and nursery propagation implicitly treat the IUCN Red List as a complete map of extinction risk. It is not. For plants including trees, the biggest risk is not only that we mis-rank species, it’s that we overlook vast numbers of species that have never been [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Many African conservation decisions such as funding, policy, species prioritization and nursery propagation implicitly treat the IUCN Red List as a complete map of extinction risk. It is not. For plants including trees, the biggest risk is not only that we mis-rank species, it’s that we overlook vast numbers of species that have never been globally assessed or have assessments that are decades old. So, how much plant diversity is assessed? Globally, one widely cited synthesis notes that of about 350,000 vascular plant species, the IUCN Red List documents about 62,666 species, or roughly 18%. That means most vascular plant species worldwide have no global Red List category to guide action. Africa illustrates the gap even more starkly. A comprehensive checklist of Mozambique’s vascular flora (compiled in July 2021) reported that although 1,667 taxa in the national checklist were registered on the IUCN Red List, the global extinction risk status for 76.5% of Mozambique’s vascular flora was not evaluated (including taxa explicitly categorized as not evaluated (NE) and taxa not listed on the IUCN Red List). At a broader (tropical Africa) scale, one peer-reviewed analysis of 22,036 green plant species found that only 2,856 had full IUCN assessments available (about 13%), and only 2,009 (9.1%) had assessments published after 2001. In other words, 87% of species had their assessments published a quarter century, or longer, ago. Flower and leaves of mgambo tree (Majidea zangueberica), which is also known as black pearl tree or velvet seed tree. Image courtesy of Lukango&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/too-many-african-plants-fall-into-the-iucns-not-evaluated-trap-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/too-many-african-plants-fall-into-the-iucns-not-evaluated-trap-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-313117</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Myanmar’s botanical data gaps risk its unique flora, collaborations could help, study says</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/myanmars-botanical-data-gaps-risk-its-unique-flora-collaborations-could-help-study-says/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/myanmars-botanical-data-gaps-risk-its-unique-flora-collaborations-could-help-study-says/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Jan 2026 01:00:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/12120936/Calanthe_tricarinata_Wiki-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=312847</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Myanmar, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Botany, Conservation, Environment, Forests, Habitat Loss, Montane Forests, Plants, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Research, and Traditional People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Myanmar is a country of extremes. From tropical forests, mangroves and wetlands to frost-bitten alpine mountain slopes and jagged limestone karst outcrops, it’s home to tremendous botanical diversity. Orchids alone account for more than 1,200 species, and researchers have described scores of new-to-science plant species in recent years, including a color-shifting Begonia and a rare [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Myanmar is a country of extremes. From tropical forests, mangroves and wetlands to frost-bitten alpine mountain slopes and jagged limestone karst outcrops, it’s home to tremendous botanical diversity. Orchids alone account for more than 1,200 species, and researchers have described scores of new-to-science plant species in recent years, including a color-shifting Begonia and a rare type of ginger that flourishes in lofty cloud forests. Yet there remain glaring gaps in what’s known about Myanmar’s floristic diversity. “Myanmar hosts exceptionally high plant diversity and endemism,” Ke-Ping Ma, a biologist at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, told Mongabay. “However, there has been a long-standing lack [of] plant distribution data, due in part to limited field surveys and incomplete digitization of herbarium records.” Political instability inflamed by the 2021 military coup also severely hampers biological research. Some of the most unstable parts of Myanmar are also the most biologically rich. Once protected by their remoteness, these areas are increasingly threatened by rampant natural resource extraction as vying political groups seek to fund their operations. “Biodiversity is often one of the neglected victims of war because you can&#8217;t go and collect data, and you also can&#8217;t protect areas,” said Alice Hughes, a biologist at the University of Melbourne in Australia. “We have very little data even on basic things like [patterns of] habitat destruction. Whilst we can get some of that information from satellites, obviously, anything requiring on-the-ground information is very, very challenging.” There are 14,020 vascular plant species recorded in Myanmar,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/myanmars-botanical-data-gaps-risk-its-unique-flora-collaborations-could-help-study-says/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/myanmars-botanical-data-gaps-risk-its-unique-flora-collaborations-could-help-study-says/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-312847</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Photos: Kew Gardens&#8217; top 10 newly named plants and fungi for 2025</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/photos-kew-gardens-top-10-newly-named-plants-and-fungi-for-2025/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/photos-kew-gardens-top-10-newly-named-plants-and-fungi-for-2025/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Jan 2026 23:24:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/12223115/02.-Telipogon-cruentilabrum-CREDIT-L.Baquero-03-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=312879</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Botswana, Brazil, Ecuador, England, Namibia, Peru, and South Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Botany, Conservation, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forest Destruction, Forests, Fungi, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, New Discovery, Plants, Rainforests, Species Discovery, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Over the past year, scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in the U.K., officially named 125 plants and 65 fungi. The new-to-science species include a parasitic fungus that turns Brazilian spiders into “zombies,” a critically endangered orchid with blood-red markings from Ecuador&#8217;s cloud forests, and a shrub named after the fire demon from the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Over the past year, scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in the U.K., officially named 125 plants and 65 fungi. The new-to-science species include a parasitic fungus that turns Brazilian spiders into “zombies,” a critically endangered orchid with blood-red markings from Ecuador&#8217;s cloud forests, and a shrub named after the fire demon from the 2004 Hayao Miyazaki film Howl&#8217;s Moving Castle. Each year, Kew releases a list of its “top 10” new plant and fungal species to showcase nature&#8217;s vast diversity, as well as its fragility, as many newly described species are already in danger. According to Kew’s “State of the World&#8217;s Plants and Fungi 2023” report, three out of four undescribed plants are threatened with extinction. One species described in 2025, Cryptacanthus ebo, a bromeliad from the Ebo Forest in Cameroon, may have already gone extinct. Each year, researchers worldwide officially name about 2,500 new plants and even more fungi. An estimated 100,000 plant species and between 2 million and 3 million fungal species remain to be described and named by science. Many of these unnamed fungi are endophytes that live entirely within plant tissues, making up the plants’ microbiomes. &#8220;Describing new plant and fungal species is essential at a time when the impacts of biodiversity loss and climate change accelerate before our eyes,&#8221; Martin Cheek, a senior research leader in Kew&#8217;s Africa team, said in a press release. &#8220;It is difficult to protect what we do not know, understand and have a scientific name for.&#8221; Although a species may be&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/photos-kew-gardens-top-10-newly-named-plants-and-fungi-for-2025/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/photos-kew-gardens-top-10-newly-named-plants-and-fungi-for-2025/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-312879</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Endangered knowledge and endangered plants: Threats to Indigenous medicinal traditions in Borneo</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/endangered-knowledge-and-endangered-plants-threats-to-indigenous-medicinal-traditions-in-borneo/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/endangered-knowledge-and-endangered-plants-threats-to-indigenous-medicinal-traditions-in-borneo/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Dec 2025 00:42:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Cassidy Beach]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/29162522/beach_indigenous_medicine_1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310375</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Malaysia, Sarawak, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Botany, Environment, Indigenous Peoples, Medicinal Plants, Medicine, Plants, and Traditional Knowledge]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In Borneo’s dense rainforest, some communities of Punan people still find their medicine among the trees. For generations the forest has been their living pharmacy, with each medicinal plant tied to tradition. But as modern pressures grow, both the forest and the knowledge it shelters are slipping away. To understand what’s at stake, researchers from [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In Borneo’s dense rainforest, some communities of Punan people still find their medicine among the trees. For generations the forest has been their living pharmacy, with each medicinal plant tied to tradition. But as modern pressures grow, both the forest and the knowledge it shelters are slipping away. To understand what’s at stake, researchers from Universiti Putra Malaysia traveled to Punan communities in the Malaysian state of Sarawak to document traditional medicinal practices and identify the plants behind them. The results were recently published in the journal Tropical Conservation Science. Tribes in Sarawak, Borneo live in stilted longhouses often along rivers. Historically housing one kin group, today a longhouse is typically home to multiple extended families of mixed heritage. Photo by Beatrice Anak Kayok Thirteen Indigenous Punan people guided ecologist Keeren Sundara Rajoo and his colleagues through the forest, locating plants and sharing a “spider web” of stories and knowledge. “When a plant species disappears, it’s not only a biological loss,” Sundara Rajoo said. “It also erases part of a community’s heritage and traditional knowledge system.” Indigenous communities in Sarawak live in stilted longhouses, home to multiple families in private bilik rooms that open onto a shared ruai, the center of communal life. Another tribe’s longhouse may stand only 40 kilometers (25 miles) away, Sundara Rajoo said, yet each group preserves its own system of beliefs, unique language, and festivals. Among these communities, the Punan are struggling to hold onto some of these cultural traditions. They believe their medicine draws&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/endangered-knowledge-and-endangered-plants-threats-to-indigenous-medicinal-traditions-in-borneo/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/endangered-knowledge-and-endangered-plants-threats-to-indigenous-medicinal-traditions-in-borneo/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310375</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Botanists decode secret life of rare plants to ensure reintroduction success</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/botanists-decode-secret-life-of-rare-plants-to-ensure-reintroduction-success/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/botanists-decode-secret-life-of-rare-plants-to-ensure-reintroduction-success/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Nov 2025 16:42:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Katarina Zimmer]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/25114255/11-MAGNOLIAFRUIT-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310116</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Easter Island, Global, Mauritius, Philippines, and South Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Botany, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Forestry, Forests, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Plants, Reintroductions, Research, Restoration, Saving Species From Extinction, Solutions, Trees, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[It was 2006 and Ismail Ebrahim, a botanist with the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), was worried. While surveying one of the last remaining patches of renosterveld shrubland in South Africa’s Paarl region, near Cape Town, he and his team of citizen scientists found a small, yellow-flowered daisy species: Marasmodes undulata. It had long [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[It was 2006 and Ismail Ebrahim, a botanist with the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), was worried. While surveying one of the last remaining patches of renosterveld shrubland in South Africa’s Paarl region, near Cape Town, he and his team of citizen scientists found a small, yellow-flowered daisy species: Marasmodes undulata. It had long been thought extinct, with the last 200-strong population observed at the same location near the town of Paarl in the 1980s. Now, Ebrahim’s team had discovered an even smaller population, numbering just 27 individuals. The citizen scientists had to act quickly to stave off species oblivion. Competing vegetation was choking out the small daisies, so Ebrahim’s team took the calculated risk of setting fire to the site to level the playing field and stimulate seedling growth for the fire-adapted daisy. But no M. undulata reappeared at first, and those popping up in subsequent years disappeared. “Every time we went back to the site, we found less plants,” Ebrahim recalls. Why put so much focus on conserving a diminutive shrubland flower? Among the diverse inhabitants of the renosterveld, few species are more easily overlooked than M. undulata, which botanist Donovan Kirkwood, the curator of the Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden affectionately called the “ugly duckling daisy” before his untimely death in August. But just like other renosterveld plants, M. undulata belongs there, forming part of an ecosystem that becomes more sensitive to collapse with every species that is lost. Like a Jenga tower block, the little daisy&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/botanists-decode-secret-life-of-rare-plants-to-ensure-reintroduction-success/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/botanists-decode-secret-life-of-rare-plants-to-ensure-reintroduction-success/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310116</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Top ethnobotanist Mark Plotkin&#8217;s COP30 reflections on Amazon conservation (analysis)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/top-ethnobotanist-mark-plotkins-cop30-reflections-on-amazon-conservation-analysis/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/top-ethnobotanist-mark-plotkins-cop30-reflections-on-amazon-conservation-analysis/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Nov 2025 21:45:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mark J. Plotkin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/17210100/Suriname-2-e1763414931233-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309585</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Latin America, Peru, South America, and Suriname]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Analysis, Biodiversity, Botany, Commentary, Conservation, Development, Environment, Forest Products, Forests, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Indigenous Peoples, Land Rights, Medicinal Plants, Medicine, Rainforests, Research, Sustainable Development, Threats To Rainforests, Traditional Knowledge, Traditional Medicine, Traditional People, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Having studied the healing plants and peoples of tropical South America for well over four decades, I am often asked, “What is the conservation status of the Amazon Rainforest? Is the glass half-full or half-empty?” My reply never changes. “By definition, any glass that is half-full is half-empty!” When I first traveled to the Amazon [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Having studied the healing plants and peoples of tropical South America for well over four decades, I am often asked, “What is the conservation status of the Amazon Rainforest? Is the glass half-full or half-empty?” My reply never changes. “By definition, any glass that is half-full is half-empty!” When I first traveled to the Amazon in the 1970s, the world was a different place. Most people thought of the rainforest, if they thought of it at all, as a green hell to be avoided at all costs. Soon thereafter, public perception of tropical rainforests shifted dramatically, driven by the emerging modern environmental movement. Tropical forest and river in Suriname. Image courtesy of Mark J. Plotkin. Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring in 1962 and Earth Day in 1970 were milestones in generating global awareness and concern over deforestation, pesticides, pollution and species extinction, particularly in the industrialized world. However, Western scientists like Tom Lovejoy, Richard Schultes and E.O. Wilson — as well as Brazilian scientists like Marcio Ayres, Paulo Nogueiro-Neto and Paulo Vanzolini — presented a compelling case that the biological richness and fragility of tropical forests merited at least as much attention as ecosystems in the temperate regions. These scientists reframed the global image of Amazonia from “green hell” to “treasure trove of biodiversity.” The media also played a positive role. The vast scale of burning and clearing — turning a green wonderland into a red desert through major development projects like ill-planned dams or road building — shocked and horrified&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/top-ethnobotanist-mark-plotkins-cop30-reflections-on-amazon-conservation-analysis/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309585</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Forest sanctuaries and spiritual balance in the Karen highlands of Thailand</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/forest-sanctuaries-and-spiritual-balance-in-the-karen-highlands-of-thailand/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/forest-sanctuaries-and-spiritual-balance-in-the-karen-highlands-of-thailand/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Oct 2025 23:32:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/22122519/Banner-image_Noraeri-Thungmueangthong-is-a-village-leader-in-Huay-Ee-Khang-village-in-northern-Thailand-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308116</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Conservation and Religion]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Botany, Community Forests, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Culture, Environment, Environmental Law, Food, food security, Forests, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights, Protected Areas, Religions, Sustainable Forest Management, Traditional Knowledge, Traditional Medicine, and Traditional People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[HUAY EE KHANG, Thailand — “Do you hear the birds calling?” asks Noraeri Thungmueangthong, as the vibrant trill of a blue-throated barbet rings through the pine trees looming up ahead. “That’s a sign we’re entering the sacred forest.” Noraeri is a leader in Huay Ee Khang village, an Indigenous Pgaz K&#8217;Nyau Karen community of 125 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[HUAY EE KHANG, Thailand — “Do you hear the birds calling?” asks Noraeri Thungmueangthong, as the vibrant trill of a blue-throated barbet rings through the pine trees looming up ahead. “That’s a sign we’re entering the sacred forest.” Noraeri is a leader in Huay Ee Khang village, an Indigenous Pgaz K&#8217;Nyau Karen community of 125 households nestled between undulating hills in the highlands of northern Thailand’s Chiang Mai province. Within the sanctuary of the forest, she points out a wooden receptacle attached to the trunk of a tree. “When a baby is born, we place its umbilical cord in a bamboo container like this one and hang it on a young tree in this forest,” Noraeri explains. The ritual establishes a spiritual link between the child and the tree, she says. And because their souls effectively grow together, it is understood that any harm to one equates to comparable ill for the other. This acts as a powerful deterrent against cutting the trees, she notes. “In our culture, we live our lives together with the forest and the trees,” Noraeri says. “Our beliefs protect the forest and all of its resources.” Traditional Pgaz K&#8217;Nyau ways of managing the land are underpinned by Karen animist beliefs, where people, plants and animals each possess a spirit and are inseparably linked through their inner nature. Living in balance with nature is considered paramount to maintain harmony between all beings, ensuring people’s health, food security and environmental stability. With a population of 500,000 spread&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/forest-sanctuaries-and-spiritual-balance-in-the-karen-highlands-of-thailand/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308116</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Timing, not traits, helps California’s jewelflowers adapt to diverse landscapes</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/timing-not-traits-helps-californias-jewelflowers-adapt-to-diverse-landscapes/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/timing-not-traits-helps-californias-jewelflowers-adapt-to-diverse-landscapes/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Sep 2025 16:17:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Spoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/19123019/original-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=306244</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[California, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Botany, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Flowers, Habitat, Plants, Research, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The small, bell-shaped flowers that dangle like gems in dazzling hues of yellow, maroon, purple, brown and white give jewelflowers their name. Yet these plants, from the genera Streptanthus and Caulanthus, belong to the humble mustard family. Native to California, more than 60 species dot the state’s myriad landscapes, splashing the hillsides of the Sierras, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The small, bell-shaped flowers that dangle like gems in dazzling hues of yellow, maroon, purple, brown and white give jewelflowers their name. Yet these plants, from the genera Streptanthus and Caulanthus, belong to the humble mustard family. Native to California, more than 60 species dot the state’s myriad landscapes, splashing the hillsides of the Sierras, prettifying arid deserts, splattering the grasslands with colors, and bedazzling coastlines. Most species are highly endemic. For instance, Farnworth’s jewelflower (Streptanthus farnsworthianus) lives in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains, and the Mount Tamalpais jewelflower (Streptanthus batrachopus) grows around the peak just north of San Francisco — and nowhere else. These plants originated in arid southwestern deserts some 2 million to 5 million years ago. Over time, they spread northward, thriving in various climates and at different altitudes, from Baja California to Oregon. Much of California has a Mediterranean climate, where summers are hot and dry; it rains during the cooler months, from fall to spring — quite different from the dry deserts the plants come from. Until now, scientists thought jewelflowers moved into new territories by evolving and adapting to a range of temperatures and rainfall patterns. But they wondered if there was another reason for their successful move to new landscapes. A recent study found an unexpected answer: Yes, jewelflowers evolved to survive in different habitats, but not nearly as much as scientists had thought. Instead, they changed their habits. These plants adjusted their schedules, altering the timing of when they sprouted and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/timing-not-traits-helps-californias-jewelflowers-adapt-to-diverse-landscapes/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-306244</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>After 160 years, an old drawing leads scientists to a long-lost Sri Lanka orchid</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/after-160-years-an-old-drawing-leads-scientists-to-a-long-lost-sri-lanka-orchid/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/after-160-years-an-old-drawing-leads-scientists-to-a-long-lost-sri-lanka-orchid/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Aug 2025 08:37:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malaka Rodrigo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/28082511/Vanda-thwaitesii-3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=305028</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Botany, Citizen Science, Conservation, Environment, Flowers, Forests, Hunting, Orchids, Plants, Rediscovered Species, Species, Species Discovery, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — In the mist-wrapped folds of Sri Lanka’s Knuckles Mountain Range, a UNESCO-recognized world heritage site, where clouds softly wrap the rugged peaks in a soft embrace, a group of scientists recently stumbled upon a ghost from the island’s colonial past, in the form of a forgotten orchid. Nestled among the branches of forest [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — In the mist-wrapped folds of Sri Lanka’s Knuckles Mountain Range, a UNESCO-recognized world heritage site, where clouds softly wrap the rugged peaks in a soft embrace, a group of scientists recently stumbled upon a ghost from the island’s colonial past, in the form of a forgotten orchid. Nestled among the branches of forest trees near a tributary of the Mahaweli River in Rangala, Kandy district, bloomed Vanda thwaitesii — a delicate orchid unseen in the wild for more than 160 years. The orchid had never been studied alive, even by eminent British botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker, who described it in 1898 based on only two drawings by Haramanis de Alwis, the official draftsman at Sri Lanka’s Royal Botanic Gardens at the time. With no herbarium specimens collected, the plant slipped into obscurity and was widely presumed extinct. “Many assumed it had vanished from the Earth, so we were delighted to find it alive after all this time,” says Bhathiya Gopallawa, a Ph.D. candidate at Sri Lanka’s University of Peradeniya, who co-authored the paper announcing the rediscovery. Vanda thwaitesii is named after George Thwaites, a botanist and administrator who held the post of superintendent of the Royal Botanical Gardens located in Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, for 30 years and also studied the flower through a 1961 drawing. Image by Bhathiya Gopallawa. A scientific twist The return of V. thwaitesii is also a testament to citizen science, a trait of many recent floral rediscoveries and finding of rare plants. Gopallawa and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/after-160-years-an-old-drawing-leads-scientists-to-a-long-lost-sri-lanka-orchid/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-305028</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Amazon jambu blends tradition and science for numbing flavors and healthcare</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/amazon-jambu-blends-tradition-and-science-for-numbing-flavors-and-healthcare/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/amazon-jambu-blends-tradition-and-science-for-numbing-flavors-and-healthcare/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Aug 2025 14:34:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sarah Brown]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Food systems]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/18131045/Acmella-oleracea-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=304465</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Bioeconomy, Botany, Conservation, Culture, Environment, Farming, Food, food security, Indigenous Peoples, Medicinal Plants, Natural Resources, Plants, Soy, Traditional Knowledge, and Traditional People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Brazil's bioeconomy efforts are unlocking surprising global applications for a homegrown plant known as a local remedy and seasoning.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The jambu plant is native to the Amazon Rainforest, where it’s renowned for its numbing and tingling effect when eaten. This characteristic has made it a main ingredient in many northern Brazilian dishes and drinks, as well as a traditional remedy for Indigenous communities living in Amazonian areas. But the benefits of the plant, Acmella oleracea, go even further: boosted by new studies, it’s now becoming a key ingredient of Brazil’s growing bioeconomy, thanks to researchers’ ability to turn local biodiversity and traditional knowledge into sustainable products with a huge socioeconomic impact. One of the initiatives is led by scientists from the Supercritical Technology Laboratory (Labtecs) at the Federal University of Pará (UFPA). Since 2019, they’ve been developing new applications to turn jambu-based products into bio-innovations, relying on techniques passed through Indigenous knowledge. So far, they’ve created a fast-dissolving oral film that relieves dry mouth in cancer patients; an anti-aging facial cream; an intimate lubricant and gels with stimulating effects; and an alcohol-free mouthwash. New research is even exploring jambu’s anti-arrhythmic activity property 一 that is, its potential for correcting abnormal heartbeat frequency. “It has truly unique characteristics,” Ana Paula Silva, a food science and technology researcher at UFPA, told Mongabay. “It’s an incredibly versatile plant with applications in cosmetics, medicine and functional foods. Very few native species offer such a wide range of possibilities.” Researcher Ana Paula Silva has been studying jambu for several years, from cultivation to finding the best ways to deliver the product to consumers. Image&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/amazon-jambu-blends-tradition-and-science-for-numbing-flavors-and-healthcare/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-304465</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Filipino communities use vast variety of endemic plants for health: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/filipino-communities-use-vast-variety-of-endemic-plants-for-health-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/filipino-communities-use-vast-variety-of-endemic-plants-for-health-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Aug 2025 17:58:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Keith Anthony Fabro]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/12083428/Momordica_charantia_24042014_2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=304095</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Philippines, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Botany, Conservation, Culture, Deforestation, Environment, Health, Indigenous Peoples, Medicinal Plants, Medicine, Plantations, Traditional Knowledge, Traditional Medicine, Traditional People, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the forested highlands of Mindanao Island in the southern Philippines, Mingay Dakias knows exactly where to find medicine — not in modern health clinics but in the leaves, roots and vines that grow wild around his community. Taught by his father, who learned from the elders before him, Dakias brews certain plants into teas [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the forested highlands of Mindanao Island in the southern Philippines, Mingay Dakias knows exactly where to find medicine — not in modern health clinics but in the leaves, roots and vines that grow wild around his community. Taught by his father, who learned from the elders before him, Dakias brews certain plants into teas to treat stomachaches and mixes others with coconut oil to treat wounds and rashes. “For many common illnesses, these traditional remedies are really our first aid,” said 65-year-old Dakias, a member of the Manobo-Dulangan Indigenous community in Sultan Kudarat province. “We usually rely on these treatments first and only go to the clinic or hospital when an illness becomes very serious.” Dakias lives hours from the nearest paved road — much farther from a hospital. Like many Indigenous communities across the Philippines, the Manobo-Dulangan rely on forest medicine for everyday health care. This includes alingatong (stinging nettle, Dendrocnide meyeniana), a deciduous shrub whose broad, hairy leaves conceal a sting, yet locals mix it with coconut oil to create an ointment for easing muscle and joint pain, urinary problems and skin conditions such as eczema. But researchers say this knowledge system is increasingly at risk, not only from threats like deforestation but also from limited government efforts to formally document, support and integrate traditional medicine into national health and conservation programs. Locals mix alingatong (stinging nettle) with coconut oil to create an ointment for easing muscle and joint pain, urinary problems and skin conditions such as&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/filipino-communities-use-vast-variety-of-endemic-plants-for-health-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/filipino-communities-use-vast-variety-of-endemic-plants-for-health-study/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-304095</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>On remote Indonesia karst outpost, Indigenous farmers fear the silence of the yams</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/on-remote-indonesia-karst-outpost-indigenous-farmers-fear-the-silence-of-the-yams/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/on-remote-indonesia-karst-outpost-indigenous-farmers-fear-the-silence-of-the-yams/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Jun 2025 00:11:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sarjan Lahay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/03105812/Deslin-Kalaeng-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=300098</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and Sulawesi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Botany, Crops, Culture, Environment, Farming, Food, food security, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Industry, Islands, Karst, Land Rights, Mining, Pollution, and Social Justice]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BANGGAI ISLANDS, Indonesia — Dewdrops cling to weeds in the Banggai archipelago as Deslin Kalaeng grasps a large round root vegetable from the ancient karst. “That’s the Banggai yam,” she says, shortly after daybreak over the Maluku Sea. “It’s our source of life, other than rice.” Deslin is known as the Ibu Kampung — “village [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BANGGAI ISLANDS, Indonesia — Dewdrops cling to weeds in the Banggai archipelago as Deslin Kalaeng grasps a large round root vegetable from the ancient karst. “That’s the Banggai yam,” she says, shortly after daybreak over the Maluku Sea. “It’s our source of life, other than rice.” Deslin is known as the Ibu Kampung — “village mother” — of the Tolobuono Komba-komba Indigenous community here in the center of Peleng, one of a cluster of karst islands just east of the much larger Indonesian island of Sulawesi. That honorific reflects Deslin’s advocacy against plans to quarry the limestone that surrounds Komba-komba village, and that makes up around 97% of the rest of the island chain, known as the Banggai Islands. Karst systems like the Banggai Islands are landscapes of soluble bedrock riddled with caves and underground rivers formed by erosion from acidic water over millions of years. Around 15% of the world’s land surface is karst, or carbonate rocks, the most common of which are dolostone and limestone. Indonesia accounts for around 155,000 square kilometers (60,000 square miles) of karst landscapes. Almost a tenth of this area has experienced degrees of environmental damage, mainly due to mining, according to Gadjah Mada University karst expert Eko Haryono. The limestone karst in the Banggai Islands is an intact Swiss cheese of caves and springs that sustain this archipelago of around 130,000 people with water to drink — and to irrigate the nutrient-dense yams harvested by women like Deslin. People here speak of no&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/on-remote-indonesia-karst-outpost-indigenous-farmers-fear-the-silence-of-the-yams/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/on-remote-indonesia-karst-outpost-indigenous-farmers-fear-the-silence-of-the-yams/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-300098</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>To collect native seeds, Ugandan botanists are climbing forest giants</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/to-collect-native-seeds-ugandan-botanists-are-climbing-forest-giants/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/to-collect-native-seeds-ugandan-botanists-are-climbing-forest-giants/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 May 2025 15:10:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ruth Kamnitzer]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/05/23072257/2_ivory-coast-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=299532</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Uganda]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Botany, Conservation, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Forestry, Forests, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Reforestation, Restoration, Seed Dispersal, and Trees]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The mvule (Milicia excelsa) is a giant of a tree, up to 50 meters (165 feet) tall, with a trunk 6 m (20 ft) around. To collect seeds from such a large tree, climbers work in a team of three, explains Sebastain Walaita, curator at the Tooro Botanical Gardens in Uganda. Spacing themselves out evenly [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The mvule (Milicia excelsa) is a giant of a tree, up to 50 meters (165 feet) tall, with a trunk 6 m (20 ft) around. To collect seeds from such a large tree, climbers work in a team of three, explains Sebastain Walaita, curator at the Tooro Botanical Gardens in Uganda. Spacing themselves out evenly around the trunk they climb in tandem upwards using a system of ropes, harnesses and spurs. Once in the crown, the climbers separate, moving along the branches and stashing the mature seeds into their collection bags before descending back to the ground. Walaita first learned high tree climbing for seed collection more than 25 years ago at a course organized by the Danish nonprofit DANIDA Forest Seed Center and has been honing his skills ever since. Over the years, he has trained a cadre of Ugandan botanists at Tooro, who can now safely collect seeds from even the most difficult trees, he says, improving their ability to propagate native species. “It’s a passion,” Walaita says. Collecting native tree seeds for restoration Under the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative, or AFR100, governments across the continent have committed to restoring 100 million hectares (247 million acres) of land by 2030. There’s a growing awareness amongst conservationists that it’s best to replant areas with native species for biodiversity. In addition, an alarming number of tree species are now threatened with extinction, including in Africa; globally, more than one in three tree species is at risk of extinction, according&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/to-collect-native-seeds-ugandan-botanists-are-climbing-forest-giants/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/to-collect-native-seeds-ugandan-botanists-are-climbing-forest-giants/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-299532</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Urban forests in Niger’s schoolyards serve climate resilience and education</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/urban-forests-in-nigers-schoolyards-serve-climate-resilience-and-education/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/urban-forests-in-nigers-schoolyards-serve-climate-resilience-and-education/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 May 2025 13:46:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Victoria Schneider]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/05/26103319/StudentsTrees_NiameyNiger2013_GustaveDeghilageFlickrBYNCND2.0-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=299650</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Niger, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Biodiversity, Botany, Cities, Climate Change, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Environment, Extreme Weather, Forestry, Impact Of Climate Change, Nature-based climate solutions, Plants, Solutions, Trees, and urban ecology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[An unusual subject has found its way into the curriculum of schools in Niger: trees. As municipal authorities across the Sahel country work to adapt to extreme heat and other effects of climate change, the value of urban forestry has gained increased recognition. “This is really an opportunity to combat climate change and poverty at [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[An unusual subject has found its way into the curriculum of schools in Niger: trees. As municipal authorities across the Sahel country work to adapt to extreme heat and other effects of climate change, the value of urban forestry has gained increased recognition. “This is really an opportunity to combat climate change and poverty at the school level, and at the same time, educate students to understand the importance of trees in cities,” Moussa Soulé, from the University Dan Dicko Dankoulodo in Niger’s second-largest city, Maradi, told Mongabay. Soulé, whose research focuses on climate change and land use, has conducted several studies on trees in Maradi and the capital, Niamey, most recently one on the ecological environment in schoolyards. According to Soulé’s findings, forests in schools have a multitude of positive impacts on learners, including improving air quality, enhancing education, and regulating microclimates. Shaded areas under trees can be used as classrooms, especially where school buildings are overcrowded or under-resourced. “We said let&#8217;s go and see what the function of such forested school spaces is and we found, among other things, that they are important to break the heat for the students, because climate change is impacting the quality of education,” said Soulé. The Sahel stretches across West Africa, from Senegal and Gambia to the Central African Republic. This region of grasslands, dryland forests, and desert, is characterized by high temperatures and a long, intense dry season. In recent years, Niger, at the heart of this region, has experienced frequent,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/urban-forests-in-nigers-schoolyards-serve-climate-resilience-and-education/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/urban-forests-in-nigers-schoolyards-serve-climate-resilience-and-education/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-299650</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Reshu Bashyal becomes fourth Nepali in as many years to win Whitley Award</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/botanist-reshu-bashyal-becomes-fourth-nepali-in-as-many-years-to-win-whitley-award/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/botanist-reshu-bashyal-becomes-fourth-nepali-in-as-many-years-to-win-whitley-award/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 May 2025 00:50:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/05/01004758/2025_Whitley_Fund_For_Nature-16-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=298398</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Botany, Conservation, Environmental Heroes, Medicinal Plants, Orchids, and Plants]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Nepali conservationist Reshu Bashyal has been named one of the six recipients of this year’s prestigious Whitley Award in recognition of her work to tackle widespread poaching of orchids and yews. Bashyal is the fourth Nepali in as many years to win the award, dubbed the “Green Oscars,” for which she will receive [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Nepali conservationist Reshu Bashyal has been named one of the six recipients of this year’s prestigious Whitley Award in recognition of her work to tackle widespread poaching of orchids and yews. Bashyal is the fourth Nepali in as many years to win the award, dubbed the “Green Oscars,” for which she will receive 50,000 pounds (nearly $67,000) from the U.K.’s Princess Anne, patron of the Whitley Fund for Nature. The award ceremony was held on April 30 in London. “Orchids and yews are very special because they stand out as evolutionarily distinct plants that have lured people not just because of their beauty but also with their medicinal values,” said Bashyal, research and program lead at the Kathmandu-based NGO Greenhood Nepal. The Whitley Fund for Nature said the award recognizes Bashyal’s pioneering work in understanding the extent of commercial harvesting of yews and orchids in Nepal by carrying out baseline research on harvesters’ motivation and techniques. Orchids, members of the plant family Orchidaceae, are known for their colorful and fragrant blooms, and Nepal is believed to be home to around 500 of the roughly 30,000 species known to science. Also referred to as the “tigers of the plant world,” orchids have long been subjected to unsustainable harvesting and international trade, both for ornamental purposes and for use in Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine. Another Nepal-native species, Maire&#8217;s yew (Taxus mairei), is also sought out for use in medicine; a compound derived from the plant’s shoots is used to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/botanist-reshu-bashyal-becomes-fourth-nepali-in-as-many-years-to-win-whitley-award/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-298398</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Bleak future for Karoo succulents as desert expands in South Africa</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/desert-creep-in-south-africa-spells-bleak-future-for-succulent-resplendent-karoo/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/desert-creep-in-south-africa-spells-bleak-future-for-succulent-resplendent-karoo/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Mar 2025 10:58:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Leonie Joubert]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/03/20104539/GiantQuiverTree_NamaqualandSouthAfrica_LeonieJoubert-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=295916</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, South Africa, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Biodiversity, Botany, Climate Change, Conservation, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Impact Of Climate Change, Plants, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Sometimes words fall hopelessly short. This might explain the silences between the two botanists as their vehicle crunches over a gravelly Richtersveld moonscape, a desert that straddles the South African and Namibian border along the Orange River. “We’ve just arrived in the Namaskluft,” says Wendy Foden, recording her observations in a tone that’s oddly neutral, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Sometimes words fall hopelessly short. This might explain the silences between the two botanists as their vehicle crunches over a gravelly Richtersveld moonscape, a desert that straddles the South African and Namibian border along the Orange River. “We’ve just arrived in the Namaskluft,” says Wendy Foden, recording her observations in a tone that’s oddly neutral, given the circumstances. “We&#8217;re driving through an avenue of mostly dead Aloidendron ramosissimum,” she goes on above the growl of her pickup truck’s diesel engine. “Never seen anything like this.” Later, she will say it was like driving through a graveyard. Each dead tree is a tombstone, marking where the bushy aloe once thrived. Each is a sun-cured skeleton, long having shed the fleshy canopy of olive-green leaves that were reservoirs of water. Like any graveyard, some of the tombstones have toppled. “There&#8217;s a live one … But there’s literally hundreds of dead … This is insane.” The Namaqualand is getting hotter. Higher temperatures and the recent drought have likely accelerated the desertification processes caused by decades of heavy grazing and mining, where many sites have not been adequately rehabilitated. Once sand becomes mobile, it can be lethal to downwind plants. Image by Leonie Joubert for Mongabay. The Grasvlakte — the “grassy plains” — between Steinkopf, Port Nolloth and Eksteenfontein has become a focal point for study. This once-abundant grazing area is swallowing one farmhouse and surrounding buildings. Some say the dune is the result of the recent drought. Other farmers say it’s caused by&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/desert-creep-in-south-africa-spells-bleak-future-for-succulent-resplendent-karoo/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-295916</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Digitizing 6 million plant specimens: Interview with Gunter Fischer &#038; Jordan Teisher</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/digitizing-6-million-plant-specimens-interview-with-gunter-fischer-jordan-teisher/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/digitizing-6-million-plant-specimens-interview-with-gunter-fischer-jordan-teisher/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jan 2025 11:37:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhishyant Kidangoor]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhishyantkidangoor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/01/24113218/golden-shrimp-plant-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=293355</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[North America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Botany, Climate Change, Conservation, Conservation Technology, data, Environment, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Plants, Species, Technology, Trees, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[How can dried plant specimens protect a rainforest? In myriad ways. Kept in collections known as herbariums, they store critical data on the physical characteristics, or morphology, of plants, as well as their origins and global distribution. Scale that up to 6 million specimens, and you have a treasure trove of information that could potentially [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[How can dried plant specimens protect a rainforest? In myriad ways. Kept in collections known as herbariums, they store critical data on the physical characteristics, or morphology, of plants, as well as their origins and global distribution. Scale that up to 6 million specimens, and you have a treasure trove of information that could potentially inform conservation strategies and aid restoration efforts around the world. That’s exactly what one of the world’s largest herbariums is attempting to do. Missouri Botanical Garden has announced a six-year project, the Revolutionizing Species Identification (RSI) initiative, to extract all kinds of data from the 6 million species it houses. Throw in artificial intelligence to automate and speed up the identification of plant species around the world, and the outcome should be a digital plant repository unlike any before it. Over the past decade, the organization had digitized around 2 million plant specimens, with the new project aiming to cover the remaining 6 million specimens over the next six years. “You can&#8217;t conserve what you don&#8217;t know,” Gunter Fischer, senior vice president of science and conservation research at Missouri Botanical Garden, told Mongabay in a video interview. He added the goal of the project is to “speed up the identification of species to make sure that they don&#8217;t go extinct.” In addition to visual scans of the specimens in the herbarium, the team will also use a technology known as hyperspectral imaging to develop a database that gives each species a unique fingerprint. Hyperspectral imaging,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/digitizing-6-million-plant-specimens-interview-with-gunter-fischer-jordan-teisher/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-293355</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Bangladesh, a botanist brings quick, fun lessons to social media</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/in-bangladesh-a-botanist-brings-quick-fun-lessons-to-social-media/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/in-bangladesh-a-botanist-brings-quick-fun-lessons-to-social-media/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Jan 2025 13:22:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mohammad Al-Masum Molla]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/01/17131249/among-the-flowers-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=293082</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Botany, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation leadership, Education, Environment, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Plants, Social Media, and Trees]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the bustling city of Dhaka, Azharul Islam Khan is developing a growing community of plant enthusiasts, one video at a time. With a degree in botany from Dhaka University and a 27-year-long career in the pharmaceutical industry, 54-year-old Azharul has always had a passion for plants. But it wasn’t just his formal education that [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the bustling city of Dhaka, Azharul Islam Khan is developing a growing community of plant enthusiasts, one video at a time. With a degree in botany from Dhaka University and a 27-year-long career in the pharmaceutical industry, 54-year-old Azharul has always had a passion for plants. But it wasn’t just his formal education that fueled his love for botany. He says he believes that anyone can learn to identify plants, regardless of academic background. This belief drove him to take his plant knowledge beyond the classroom and into the homes of thousands of people through short engaging videos on Facebook and YouTube. Some of his videos have even gone viral, receiving more than 10 million views within just 24 hours. Azharul’s journey of plant identification began in 2008, but it was only recently in 2023 that he decided to go online to share his wealth of knowledge with the world. He says that formal education is not necessary to learn about the natural world. “You don’t need a degree to recognize plants,” he says. “You just need curiosity and a willingness to observe.” His knowledge of scientific names and deep understanding of plant characteristics comes from years of self-study and experience. He is particularly passionate about preserving medicinal and endangered species. Of the estimated 6,000 flora species found in Bangladesh, 127 species are listed as endangered and 262 as vulnerable. Azharul’s focus is on discovering rare and endangered species, and he keeps their locations private to protect them from&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/in-bangladesh-a-botanist-brings-quick-fun-lessons-to-social-media/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-293082</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Photos: Top new species from 2024</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/photos-top-new-species-from-2024/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/photos-top-new-species-from-2024/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Dec 2024 22:47:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/04/01222118/Image-1-Leopardus-tigrinus-pardinoides-Cuenca-3-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=292398</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Amazon, Asia, Atlantic Forest, Australia, Cameroon, Central America, Chile, China, Global, India, Indonesia, Latin America, Malaysia, Mekong Basin, Pacific Ocean, Peru, South America, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Botany, Charismatic Animals, Climate Change, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Cryptic Species, Culture, Deforestation, DNA, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Endangered Species Act, Environment, Flowers, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Herps, Insects, Islands, Lizards, Mammals, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, New Discovery, Oceans, Oil Drilling, Plants, Rainforests, Reptiles, Research, Saving Species From Extinction, Snakes, Solutions, Species Discovery, Traditional Knowledge, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A giant anaconda, a vampire hedgehog, a dwarf squirrel, and a tiger cat were among the new species named by science in 2024. Found from the depths of the Pacific Ocean to the mountaintops of Southeast Asia, each new species shows us that even our well-known world contains unexplored chambers of life. This year, in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A giant anaconda, a vampire hedgehog, a dwarf squirrel, and a tiger cat were among the new species named by science in 2024. Found from the depths of the Pacific Ocean to the mountaintops of Southeast Asia, each new species shows us that even our well-known world contains unexplored chambers of life. This year, in Peru&#8217;s Alto Mayo Landscape alone, scientists uncovered 27 new-to-science species, including four new mammals, during a two month expedition. Meanwhile, the Greater Mekong region yielded 234 new species, and scientists from the California Academy of Sciences described 138 new species globally. The ocean depths continued to surprise, with more than 100 potentially new species found on an unexplored underwater mountain off Chile&#8217;s coast. Two new mammal species were found in India this year, including the world’s smallest otter. Scientists estimate only a small fraction of Earth&#8217;s species have been documented, perhaps 20% at best. Even among mammals, the best-known group of animals, researchers think we’ve only found 80% of species.  Most of these hidden species are likely bats, rodents, shrews, moles and hedgehogs. Members of Indigenous Awajun communities in Peru&#8217;s Alto Mayo assist scientists with their research, such as throwing cast nets to capture fish.  68 fish species were collected, including eight that are new to science. Photo courtesy of Trond Larsen/Conservation International. However, while species may be new to Western science, many have been well known to Indigenous peoples and local communities for generations. These communities often maintain sophisticated classification systems and deep ecological&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/photos-top-new-species-from-2024/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-292398</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Trees live out their lives in surprising ways, massive new study finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/trees-live-out-their-lives-in-surprising-ways-massive-new-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/trees-live-out-their-lives-in-surprising-ways-massive-new-study-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Dec 2024 02:08:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Collin Blinder]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/11/30233058/kauai_220506-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=290989</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Botany, Carbon Sequestration, Ecology, Environment, Forest Carbon, Forests, Green, and Trees]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Forests are an essential ally in combating climate change. Trees consume carbon dioxide in order to grow, pulling the gas out of the air and storing it in wood, bark and leaves. But when a tree dies and decomposes, that carbon is set free. To forecast the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, scientists [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Forests are an essential ally in combating climate change. Trees consume carbon dioxide in order to grow, pulling the gas out of the air and storing it in wood, bark and leaves. But when a tree dies and decomposes, that carbon is set free. To forecast the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, scientists must accurately model the rate at which forests store and release carbon. This requires understanding how fast tree species grow, how long they live, and what happens when they come together to form a forest. Forest in California&#8217;s Sierra Nevada. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler. To address those fundamental questions, an international team of nearly 120 researchers joined forces to build a massive dataset of life histories for trees in forests. Their study, published recently in Science, shows that the lives of trees are more complex than ecologists had thought. The findings could help improve both carbon forecasts and conservation strategies. &#8220;One of the big compelling arguments for why we need to save biodiversity is because natural ecosystems store lots of carbon,&#8221; said ecologist Thomas Crowther, founder of the Crowther Lab at ETH Zürich in Switzerland and senior author on the study. &#8220;But in order to understand how they store carbon, the most important thing we need to understand is how long that carbon stays within ecosystems.&#8221; Coast redwoods living alongside other species in an old growth forest in California, USA. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler The conventional wisdom in ecology is that most animals&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/trees-live-out-their-lives-in-surprising-ways-massive-new-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/trees-live-out-their-lives-in-surprising-ways-massive-new-study-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-290989</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Citizen scientists can boost IUCN species assessments, but need better guidance from ecologists</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/citizen-scientists-can-boost-iucn-species-assessments-but-need-better-guidance-from-ecologists/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/citizen-scientists-can-boost-iucn-species-assessments-but-need-better-guidance-from-ecologists/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Nov 2024 05:40:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mahima Samraik]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/11/26024450/Mahima-biodiversity-3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=290683</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia and Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Botany, Citizen Science, Conservation Technology, Environment, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Plants, Research, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Australia’s vibrant biodiversity is hanging by a thread, but citizen scientists have stepped up with passion and purpose. More than 100,000 volunteers are mapping species and gathering essential data, playing a pivotal role in conservation—including data that might help improve the IUCN Red List of species at risk. Now, a new study in Conservation Biology [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Australia’s vibrant biodiversity is hanging by a thread, but citizen scientists have stepped up with passion and purpose. More than 100,000 volunteers are mapping species and gathering essential data, playing a pivotal role in conservation—including data that might help improve the IUCN Red List of species at risk. Now, a new study in Conservation Biology calls for clearer direction to supercharge their efforts. The guidelines, the authors say, will help volunteers provide rigorous data to IUCN, which can inform decisions on the extinction risks faced by species and establish conservation priorities. Citizen science data collected today is the largest source of open-source biodiversity data in Australia, state wildlife ecologists Rachael Gallagher and Erin Roger, who led the research. &#8220;The real challenge isn’t gathering the data—it’s how we use it to inform extinction risk assessments,&#8221; said Gallagher, an expert in species conservation at Western Sydney University in New South Wales. &#8220;Citizen science has the potential to dramatically improve our understanding of biodiversity, but we need to ensure the data aligns with the specific requirements of IUCN extinction risk criteria.&#8221; Citizen scientists photographing insects at a UV light and moth sheet in Kalbarri National Park, Western Australia. Photo credit: Thomas Mesaglio Two standout projects featured in the research—Fungimap and FrogID—showcase how citizen scientists are already contributing valuable data. For example, Fungimap encourages people to document and map fungi through the iNaturalist platform. These records have directly influenced threat assessments for at least 13 species across Australia. Scott Loarie, co-director of iNaturalist and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/citizen-scientists-can-boost-iucn-species-assessments-but-need-better-guidance-from-ecologists/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/citizen-scientists-can-boost-iucn-species-assessments-but-need-better-guidance-from-ecologists/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-290683</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The Amazon is ablaze again. What it means for us (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/the-amazon-is-ablaze-again-what-it-means-for-us-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/the-amazon-is-ablaze-again-what-it-means-for-us-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Sep 2024 00:08:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mark J. Plotkin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/09/27150306/amazon_201359_24-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=287959</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, South America, and Suriname]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Botany, Climate Change, Commentary, Conservation, Deforestation, Ecosystem Services, Environment, Fires, Forests, Green, Impact Of Climate Change, Indigenous Peoples, Medicinal Plants, Precipitation, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, Traditional People, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 2019, the world watched in horror as images of the Amazon rainforest ablaze flooded the news. Over 70,000 wildfires raged uncontrollably, killing wildlife, filling hospitals with patients struggling to breathe, polluting rivers, halting air traffic, and casting a dark pall over Brazil’s largest cities. And now, it&#8217;s happening again. Climate change is no longer [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 2019, the world watched in horror as images of the Amazon rainforest ablaze flooded the news. Over 70,000 wildfires raged uncontrollably, killing wildlife, filling hospitals with patients struggling to breathe, polluting rivers, halting air traffic, and casting a dark pall over Brazil’s largest cities. And now, it&#8217;s happening again. Scorched earth on the banks of the drought-stricken Xingu River in the Capoto-Jarina Indigenous Territory on September 12th, 2024. Photo © Marizilda Cruppe / Greenpeace. Fire on the banks of the drought-stricken Xingu River in the Capoto-Jarina Indigenous Territory on September 12th, 2024. Photo © Marizilda Cruppe / Greenpeace. Climate change is no longer a distant threat; it’s here, growing more severe with each year. We are witnessing an increase in extreme weather events—more frequent and intense hurricanes, floods, and droughts. Rising sea levels are flooding coastlines, endangering entire island nations as well as major American cities like New York and my hometown of New Orleans. Worsening heatwaves are threatening to make vast regions of the Middle East and Indian subcontinent uninhabitable. Climate refugees and drought can only lead to more human misery and additional conflict. Number of fire hotspots detected by the Aqua satellite across Brazilian biomes between Jan 1 and Sep 26, 1998-2024, according to INPE. Number of fire hotspots detected by the Aqua satellite across the Brazilian Amazon (Amazonia) between Jan 1 and Sep 26, 1998-2024, according to INPE. Ironically, some of South America’s most traditional peoples were among the first to raise the alarm about global&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/the-amazon-is-ablaze-again-what-it-means-for-us-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/the-amazon-is-ablaze-again-what-it-means-for-us-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-287959</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Nepal, a humble edible fern is at heart of human-tiger conflict</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/in-nepal-a-humble-edible-fern-is-at-heart-of-human-tiger-conflict/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/in-nepal-a-humble-edible-fern-is-at-heart-of-human-tiger-conflict/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Sep 2024 03:30:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/09/05162005/Matteuccia-struthiopteris-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=286994</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Botany, Conservation, Environment, Food, food security, Natural Resources, Plants, Traditional Knowledge, and Traditional People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Tightly coiled fern plants with a distinctive appearance emerge amid the sal tree undergrowth as the monsoon rains fall on Nepal&#8217;s fertile floodplains. Due to its resemblance to the violin scroll, the plant is known as the &#8220;fiddle-head fern,&#8221; locally called niuro. Soon, the fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) will travel to different parts of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Tightly coiled fern plants with a distinctive appearance emerge amid the sal tree undergrowth as the monsoon rains fall on Nepal&#8217;s fertile floodplains. Due to its resemblance to the violin scroll, the plant is known as the &#8220;fiddle-head fern,&#8221; locally called niuro. Soon, the fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) will travel to different parts of the nation, including Kathmandu, where it will be savored with staple rice and lentils. Beneath this unassuming vegetable, however, is a tale of complex relationships between people and wildlife, survival and the harsh realities of tigerland life in Nepal. Niuro is commonly pickled or boiled with potatoes. For the people of Kathmandu, once the market is overflowing with it, it&#8217;s just another vegetable. However, niuro is a means of subsistence for those residing in the Terai, particularly landless people who live close to national parks like Chitwan and Bardiya, as it can be sold for a good price and support families. “It is a delicacy as well as a source of income for the people of the lowlands,” says Birendra Mahato, director at the Tharu Cultural Museum and Research Center in Sauraha, near Chitwan National Park. “People risk their lives to go into the jungle to fetch the plant.” In protected areas such as Chitwan National Park, it is illegal to harvest this wild fern, found to have antibacterial, antiviral and antioxidant properties. Local harvesters are forced to play cat and mouse with both patrolling soldiers and wild animals like tigers and rhinos because they&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/in-nepal-a-humble-edible-fern-is-at-heart-of-human-tiger-conflict/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-286994</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New relatives of the cacao tree uncovered in old plant collections</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/new-relatives-of-the-cacao-tree-uncovered-in-old-plant-collections/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/new-relatives-of-the-cacao-tree-uncovered-in-old-plant-collections/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jul 2024 15:46:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/09/09202247/amazon_202252-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=285254</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Botany, Cacao, Conservation, Environment, Forests, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, New Discovery, Rainforests, Species Discovery, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Scientists have uncovered a surprising find from the Amazon Basin: three new species of plants closely related to Theobroma cacao, the tree that gives us chocolate. This finding, made by examining dried plant specimens in herbaria, reveals that even well-known plant groups can still hold secrets. This research, published in the journal Kew Bulletin, highlights [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Scientists have uncovered a surprising find from the Amazon Basin: three new species of plants closely related to Theobroma cacao, the tree that gives us chocolate. This finding, made by examining dried plant specimens in herbaria, reveals that even well-known plant groups can still hold secrets. This research, published in the journal Kew Bulletin, highlights the importance of preserving both natural habitats and scientific collections of plants and animals, especially as more biodiversity hotspots like the Amazon face unprecedented threats from deforestation and climate change. &#8220;That there were recently unknown species closely related to Theobroma cacao, which is of huge importance for the production of chocolate and other products, shows how much more work there is to be done to catalogue the vast amount of unknown biodiversity across our planet,&#8221; James Richardson, a plant evolutionary biologist at University College Cork in Ireland, told Mongabay. A specimen of one of the new species, Theobroma globosum, collected by Doug Daly. Image courtesy of Doug Daly/New York Botanical Garden. The research team, comprising scientists and students from University College Cork; the University of São Paulo (including lead author Matheus Colli-Silva); the New York Botanical Garden; and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in the U.K., meticulously examined herbarium specimens to identify the new species: Theobroma globosum, T. nervosum, and T. schultesii. These species were originally collected from various locations across the western Amazon Basin, in Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. Theobroma schultesii, named after botanist Richard E. Schultes, is the tallest of the three new trees, reaching up to 8 meters (26 feet)&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/new-relatives-of-the-cacao-tree-uncovered-in-old-plant-collections/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/new-relatives-of-the-cacao-tree-uncovered-in-old-plant-collections/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-285254</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Traditional foods have the potential to help Kashmir communities adapt to climate change: study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/traditional-foods-have-the-potential-to-help-kashmir-communities-adapt-to-climate-change-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/traditional-foods-have-the-potential-to-help-kashmir-communities-adapt-to-climate-change-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Jul 2024 12:04:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sonam Lama Hyolmo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/07/15085022/morel-mushroom-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=284336</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Himalayas, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Biodiversity, Botany, Climate Change, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Culture, Environment, Farming, Food, food security, Indigenous Peoples, Natural Resources, Plants, Traditional Knowledge, and Traditional People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the western Himalayas of Kashmir, mountain communities are eating their way to preserving traditional knowledge. Local food advocates are trying to get more of the rich array of wild edible plant species, traditionally cultivated by communities from forests, like gucchi (Morchella esculenta), onto peoples’ plates. A new study published in Forest Policy and Economics [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the western Himalayas of Kashmir, mountain communities are eating their way to preserving traditional knowledge. Local food advocates are trying to get more of the rich array of wild edible plant species, traditionally cultivated by communities from forests, like gucchi (Morchella esculenta), onto peoples’ plates. A new study published in Forest Policy and Economics says the continued cultivation of these species opens the door to enhancing food security, building resiliency to climate change — and helps people not forget about them. In the last few decades, development projects and climate change hit hard the availability of wild food species and their cultivation, contributing to a loss of knowledge. To reverse this trend, community activists say everyone must continue foraging for them, growing them — and eating them. The authors documented 99 wild edible plant species and 9 fungi species from 38 families used in the hearty meals and preparation of four ethnic groups; the Pahari, Gujjar, Kashmiri and Bakarwal. Among them, Pahari people used the highest number of wild plant species followed by Gujjar, Kashmiri and Bakarwal. The use of tender leaves for food and medicinal purposes was the most frequent overall, while the tubers were the least used. While there were similarities and differences in food species and dietary practices between the groups, intergenerational traditional knowledge gap between elders and the young was the major driving force for traditional knowledge loss among these communities. “The documentation which is first of its kind done from the perspective of food&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/traditional-foods-have-the-potential-to-help-kashmir-communities-adapt-to-climate-change-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-284336</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Miracle’ in miniature as rare new plant defies deforestation in Ecuador</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/miracle-in-miniature-as-rare-new-plant-defies-deforestation-in-ecuador/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/miracle-in-miniature-as-rare-new-plant-defies-deforestation-in-ecuador/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jun 2024 14:42:24 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/06/28142046/Screenshot-2024-06-28-at-7.19.36-AM-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=283878</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Ecuador, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Botany, Conservation, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forest Destruction, Forest Loss, Forests, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, New Discovery, Plants, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Species Discovery, Tropical Deforestation, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[&#8220;Very exciting here!&#8221; exclaims botanist John L. Clark in an Instagram video posted during the summer of 2022. He and his team have just spotted a tiny, new-to-science plant species in a rare patch of northwestern Ecuadorian forest. This scene marks the finding of Amalophyllon miraculum, an undescribed plant barely 5 centimeters (2 inches) tall, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[&#8220;Very exciting here!&#8221; exclaims botanist John L. Clark in an Instagram video posted during the summer of 2022. He and his team have just spotted a tiny, new-to-science plant species in a rare patch of northwestern Ecuadorian forest. This scene marks the finding of Amalophyllon miraculum, an undescribed plant barely 5 centimeters (2 inches) tall, found clinging to a large boulder in a forest fragment near the town of Santo Domingo. The find, researchers say, highlights the importance of preserving even small patches of threatened ecosystems. https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/06/28140411/Amalophyllon_Instagram-1-1.mp4 &nbsp; Clark, a research botanist with Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Florida, and his team were driving outside Santo Domingo on the western slopes of the Andes when they spotted a rare tree and pulled over. The landowner came to see what the fuss was about and allowed them to explore the patch of forest on his land. &#8220;We knew right away it was something unique,&#8221; Clark told Mongabay. Amalophyllon miraculum has distinctive features, including green leaves with purple undersides and minuscule white flowers. The new species just described in the journal PhytoKeys. Amalophyllon miraculum was found on the Western slopes of the Andes. Photo courtesy of John Clark. The new species was found growing on a large bolder in Centinela. Photo courtesy of John Clark. The area where the plant was found, known as Centinela, was once a vast, lush tropical forest, but is now largely cleared for agriculture. Experts estimate that 70-97% of western Ecuador&#8217;s original forests have been destroyed since the mid-20th&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/miracle-in-miniature-as-rare-new-plant-defies-deforestation-in-ecuador/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-283878</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Global study maps most detailed tree of life yet for flowering plants</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/global-study-maps-most-detailed-tree-of-life-yet-for-flowering-plants/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/global-study-maps-most-detailed-tree-of-life-yet-for-flowering-plants/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Apr 2024 15:34:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/04/24152422/male-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=281321</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Botany, Conservation, DNA, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[After the first flower bloomed on the Earth, flowering plants evolved a staggering diversity and now make up about 90% of all plant life. Charles Darwin called this rapid domination an &#8220;abominable mystery.&#8221; A study published today, April 24, in the journal Nature and led by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, unveiled the most comprehensive [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[After the first flower bloomed on the Earth, flowering plants evolved a staggering diversity and now make up about 90% of all plant life. Charles Darwin called this rapid domination an &#8220;abominable mystery.&#8221; A study published today, April 24, in the journal Nature and led by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, unveiled the most comprehensive understanding of the evolutionary history of flowering plants to date. The research, which analyzed 1.8 billion letters of genetic code from more than 9,500 species, clears up some of the mystery surrounding the rise of flowering plants. Much like a periodic table, this tree of life shows how plants are related. To ensure the widest possible use of this data, the tree and all its underlying data have been made openly and freely accessible to all through the Kew Tree of Life Explorer. Tree of Life for flowering plants. Image courtesy of RBG Kew The researchers used 200 fossils to add a time scale to their analyses. They found that early flowering plants experienced an explosion in diversity shortly after their origin, giving rise to more than 80% of the major flowering plant lineages we see today. After that initial burst, the speed at which new flowering plant species appeared slowed down for around 100 million years. Then, about 40 million years ago, when Earth&#8217;s climate was cooling down, there was another big jump in the number of new flowering plant species showing up. The study involved 138 organizations from 27 countries and used 15&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/global-study-maps-most-detailed-tree-of-life-yet-for-flowering-plants/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-281321</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Tanzania’s ‘mountain of millipedes’ yields six new species</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/tanzanias-mountain-of-millipedes-yields-six-new-species-helping-to-track-rainforest-recovery/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/tanzanias-mountain-of-millipedes-yields-six-new-species-helping-to-track-rainforest-recovery/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Mar 2024 21:35:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ryan Truscott]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/03/26183707/AlainSenghorKNguteProcessingMillipedeSpecimen_HamiduMnendendo-MEDIUM-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=280281</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Tanzania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Botany, Conservation, Environment, Forest Recovery, Forests, Habitat Degradation, Insects, Invertebrates, New Discovery, Plants, Research, Species Discovery, Trees, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Scientists have recently described six new species of millipedes, including one from an entirely new genus, in Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Mountains. This brings the number of new species found in the Udzungwa Mountiains since 2014 to 81 — further confirming the rich biodiversity of these isolated mountain blocks. The newly-described millipedes are helping researchers to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Scientists have recently described six new species of millipedes, including one from an entirely new genus, in Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Mountains. This brings the number of new species found in the Udzungwa Mountiains since 2014 to 81 — further confirming the rich biodiversity of these isolated mountain blocks. The newly-described millipedes are helping researchers to assess ecosystem recovery. One of the newly-described millipedes, Udzungwastreptus marianae, grows to around 3 centimeters in length, and lives in forests above 1,000 meters. Henrik Enghoff, a professor of zoological systematics and zoogeography at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, who has described 69 of the 81 new species found in these mountains, says the genus was given the name Udzungwastrepus to celebrate the Udzungwas’ astonishing biological richness. The Udzungwa mountains form part of the Eastern Arc, an inland archipelago of forest-capped peaks that stretches for 900 kilometers (560 miles) across Tanzania. Image by Marc Veraart via Flickr (CC BY 2.0) U. marianae and other millipedes trundle along the forest floor like miniature locomotives, feeding on dead plant matter and organic debris. “Some of the millipedes had unique features, such as colorful legs or shiny exoskeletons,” says Alain Ngute, a tropical forest ecologist who was part of the team working in the Udzungwa Mountains that collected the millipedes. Ngute explains that millipedes help to recycle nutrients and maintain soil fertility, and contribute to soil aeration and water retention — all essential for plant growth and forest regeneration. In areas of degraded forest that have been&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/tanzanias-mountain-of-millipedes-yields-six-new-species-helping-to-track-rainforest-recovery/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-280281</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Mind-blowing’ new orchid species found in Madagascar forest canopy</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/mind-blowing-new-orchid-species-found-in-madagascar-forest-canopy/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/mind-blowing-new-orchid-species-found-in-madagascar-forest-canopy/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Mar 2024 18:23:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/03/22175955/Marie_Savignac2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=280195</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and Madagascar]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Botany, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Islands, Mining, Orchids, Rainforests, Research, Saving Species From Extinction, Solutions, and Species Discovery]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Scientists from Madagascar, the U.S. and Europe have described a new orchid species found up in the forest canopies of central Madagascar. The orchid, named Solenangis impraedicta, boasts a nectar spur that reaches 33 centimeters (13 inches) in length, making it the longest of any known plant relative to its flower size. (The flowers are [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Scientists from Madagascar, the U.S. and Europe have described a new orchid species found up in the forest canopies of central Madagascar. The orchid, named Solenangis impraedicta, boasts a nectar spur that reaches 33 centimeters (13 inches) in length, making it the longest of any known plant relative to its flower size. (The flowers are just 2 cm, or three-quarters of an inch, long.) The nectar in this long spur is likely accessible only to long-tongued hawkmoths. As they sip the nectar, pollen from the flower is transferred onto their body, facilitating the pollination of the orchid species. The new species, described in a paper in Current Biology, represents the first orchid species with such extreme adaptations to hawkmoth pollination to be described since 1965. &#8220;Discovering a new orchid species is always an exciting event, but finding such amazing and charismatic species happens only once in a scientist&#8217;s career,&#8221; said Tariq Stévart, director of the Missouri Botanical Garden&#8217;s Africa and Madagascar program. Close-up of the flowers of S. impraedicta. Image courtesy of Marie Savignac. The find is exciting to researchers because of its similarities to the so-called Darwin&#8217;s orchid (Angraecum sesquipedale), also endemic to Madagascar. After examining the long nectar spur of A. sesquipedale in 1862, Darwin speculated that it would take a moth with an exceptionally long proboscis to reach the nectar. His fellow pioneer in the theory of evolution, Alfred Russel Wallace, in 1867 narrowed down the prediction to a hawkmoth, and this theory was validated in 1903&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/mind-blowing-new-orchid-species-found-in-madagascar-forest-canopy/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-280195</doi>				</item>
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