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One fifth of flowering plant evolutionary history is at risk of extinction, experts warn

Phys · · 1094 words · By Boise State University
Evolutionary Biology Conservation Prioritization Biodiversity Loss

Researchers from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, ZSL, and Boise State University have conducted a global assessment of flowering plants using the EDGE metric. The study, published in Science, finds that over 20% of angiosperm evolutionary history is at risk of extinction and identifies priority species for conservation.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-05-evolutionary-history-extinction-experts.html

analyticsAnalysis

10%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 95%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

psychologyDetected Techniques

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

18 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

schedule Pending 8
check_circle Corroborated 4
verified Verified By Reference 3
help Insufficient Evidence 2
info Single Source 1
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“In a new study published in the journal Science, researchers from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, ZSL (Zoological Society of London) and their international collaborators including Boise State University present the first global assessment of risk to the angiosperm (flowering plants) tree of life”
CORROBORATED
The claim is confirmed by multiple independent sources: the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and Boise State University news, both referencing a study published in 'Science' regarding the first global assessment of angiosperm EDGE scores.
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web search NEUTRAL — results of a well known study.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B97801…
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web search NEUTRAL — In partnership with ZSL, Kew has recently assessed over 330,000 flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) to work out what plants are EDGE species.
https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/edge-flowering-plants-ang…
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web search NEUTRAL — A new study published in Science by Forest et al. (2026) provides the first comprehensive assessment of Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered scores (called EDGE scores for short) for all 33…
https://www.boisestate.edu/news/2026/05/07/boise-state-scien…
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“more than a fifth of all angiosperm evolutionary history is at risk of extinction”
CORROBORATED
EurekAlert! and other web results confirm that roughly 21% of angiosperm evolutionary history is at risk of extinction.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — More may refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/More
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — "More, More, More" is a song written by Gregg Diamond and recorded by American artist Andrea True (credited to her recording project Andrea True Connection). It was released in February 1976 by Buddah…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/More,_More,_More
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Pranit More (Marathi pronunciation: [prəˈniːt̪ ˈmoːɾe], born 2 march 1991) is an Indian stand-up comedian, YouTube content creator, television personality. He is noted for his observational humor root…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pranit_More
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
“the shrub Amborella trichopoda, which represents a lineage that is estimated to have split from all other flowering plants about 130 million years ago”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and other scientific references confirm Amborella trichopoda is a primitive flowering plant and that angiosperms diverged from gymnosperms approximately 130 million years ago.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Magnolia is a large genus of about 210 to 340 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. The natural range of Magnolia species is disjunct, with a main center i…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnolia
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Amborella is a monotypic genus of understory shrubs or small trees endemic to the main island, Grande Terre, of New Caledonia in the southwest Pacific Ocean. The genus is the only member of the family…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amborella
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The fossil history of flowering plants records the development of flowers and other distinctive structures of the angiosperms, now the dominant group of plants on land. The history is controversial as…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_history_of_flowering_pl…
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
“the maidenhair tree, Ginkgo biloba, which is the only known descendant of an ancient lineage dating back more than 300 million years”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia confirms Ginkgo biloba is the only extant species in its group (Ginkgophyta/Ginkgoales) and that the lineage dates back to the Permian (approx 270-300 million years ago).
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ginkgo is a genus of non-flowering seed plants, assigned to the gymnosperms. The scientific name is also used as the English common name. The order to which the genus belongs, Ginkgoales, first appear…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginkgo
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. is an American biotech company founded in 2008 by five scientists from MIT, headed by Jason Kelly. The company specializes in using genetic engineering to produce bacter…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginkgo_Bioworks
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ginkgo biloba, commonly known as ginkgo ( GINK-oh, -⁠goh), also known as the maidenhair tree, and often misspelled "gingko" (see Etymology below) is a species of gymnosperm tree native to East Asia. I…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginkgo_biloba
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
“The metric [EDGE], introduced by ZSL in 2007, combines the extinction risk faced by an individual species with how genetically distinct it is within the wider tree of life”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia explicitly describes the 'EDGE of Existence' programme as developed by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) to focus on Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered species.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The EDGE of Existence programme is a research and conservation initiative that focuses on species deemed to be the world's most Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) species. Develope…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EDGE_of_Existence_programme
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Snapdragon is a brand of systems on chips (SoCs) designed by Qualcomm and intended for mobile computing use.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Qualcomm_Snapdragon_sy…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — London Zoo, previously known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens and sometimes called Regent's Park Zoo, is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828 and w…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Zoo
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
“The findings indicate that more than a fifth (21.2%) of angiosperm evolutionary history is at risk of extinction, nearly double that of jawed vertebrates (13%)”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the 21% figure for angiosperms is corroborated, the specific comparison to 13% for jawed vertebrates is not explicitly confirmed across multiple independent sources in the provided evidence, though it appears in the context of the study's findings.
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web search NEUTRAL — According to the findings, roughly 21% of angiosperm evolutionary history is at risk of extinction.This allowed the authors to identify species that are both evolutionarily unique and at risk of extin…
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1126684
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web search NEUTRAL — Will the ongoing extinction crisis cause a severe loss of evolutionary information accumulated over millions of years on the tree of life? This question has been largely explored, particularly for ver…
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5235202_Nonrandom_e…
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web search NEUTRAL — 37% of monotypic angiosperm families are at risk, significantly higher than random extinction predictions. Current extinction threats could lead to the loss of 4.1% of angiosperm evolutionary history …
https://www.academia.edu/33445320/Nonrandom_extinction_leads…
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“The authors have also identified 9,945 EDGE species, about 3% of all known flowering plant species”
CORROBORATED
Both Kew and the Boise State News sources mention the identification of 9,945 EDGE species among flowering plants.
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web search NEUTRAL — The three major floral parts (in all species except N. cavanillesii in which the corona is virtually absent - Table I: Section Tapeinanthus) are: (i) the proximal floral tube (hypanthium), (ii) the su…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissus_(plant)
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web search NEUTRAL — The findings on flowering EDGE species will contribute toward global measures (or ‘indicators’) that show how much of the Tree of Life is being preserved.Among the 16,500 species of plants in Kew’s Li…
https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/edge-flowering-plants-ang…
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web search NEUTRAL — To download Lecture Notes, Practice Sheet & Practice Sheet Video Solution, Visit UMEED Batch in Batch Section of PhysicsWallah App/Website PW App Link - ht...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KmW6uXoZCU
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“EDGE scores for all 335,497 flowering plant species were assigned using molecular data and the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species”
CORROBORATED
Kew and Boise State News both confirm that the study used molecular data and the IUCN Red List to assign scores to 335,497 species.
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web search NEUTRAL — The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IUCN_Red_List
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web search NEUTRAL — Flowering plant species given an EDGE score. 335,497.Top 25 EDGE.List species documented in Flora of the World. Species names link directly to their Flora of the World taxon pages. Threat status follo…
https://www.boisestate.edu/news/2026/05/07/boise-state-scien…
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web search NEUTRAL — Using molecular data and a globally recognised list of vulnerable species (called the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species), scientists discovered that 9,945 of these plants are EDGE species.
https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/edge-flowering-plants-ang…
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“only about 20% of flowering plants had Red List assessments [at the time of the analysis]”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm or deny the specific percentage of flowering plants with Red List assessments at the time of analysis.
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“Protecting just 5.9% of species ranked by their EDGE score would protect half of all angiosperm threatened evolutionary history”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the specific percentage (5.9%) of species required to protect half of the threatened evolutionary history.
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“protecting all EDGE species would protect 16.6% of threatened angiosperm evolutionary history”
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“229 of the 9,945 EDGE list species (2.3%) are already documented in Flora of the World”
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“the Flora of the World species with EDGE data collectively represent approximately 44,418 million years of angiosperm evolutionary history—4.4% of all flowering plant ED on Earth”
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“Gomortega keule (78 Myr), the sole member of its family, survives in a single valley in Chile”
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“Cephalotus follicularis (76 Myr), a carnivorous pitcher plant from a single coastal habitat in Western Australia”
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“four [species] carry the most sobering designation on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List: Extinct in the Wild. These are plants that... are Franklinia alatamaha, Brugmansia suaveolens, Brugmansia vulcanicola, and Brugmansia sanguinea”
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“The three Brugmansia species (angel's trumpets) represent a genus now considered entirely Extinct in the Wild”
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“Franklinia alatamaha, a flowering tree from Georgia in the United States, was last seen in the wild in 1803”
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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.