Save the Plants: British Public Asked to Help Stop Extinctions

Plants
Plants grow out of jeans hanging on railings of a house in west London, Britain on May 25. Conservation charity Plant Heritage today released a list of plants facing extinction in Britain. Toby Melville/Reuters

To coincide with the 2016 Chelsea Flower Show, conservation charity Plant Heritage today released a list of U.K. plants facing extinction. Crocus chrysanthus 'E.A. Bowles', named after a famous British horticulturalist; several Scottish-bred lilies; and the 'Duke of Albany' fuchsia, once dedicated to the youngest son of Queen Victoria, are among the plants that could be lost forever.

The plant conservation specialists also launched a campaign asking the public to report any sightings of the endangered plants in their gardens, in an effort to raise awareness of the need for cultivated plant conservation.

Launched in conjunction with British furniture retailer Furniture Village, the campaign aims to save plants close to extinction. "We are grateful for their support in publicising our campaign to find examples of endangered garden plants which represent the plant breeding heritage of the UK and Ireland," said Sarah Quarterman, Plant Heritage's CEO, in a statement issued to Newsweek. "Plant Heritage seeks to conserve the diversity of our cultivated plants and through this campaign we hope to raise awareness of the need for cultivated plant conservation with the gardeners of Britain. Once a plant is gone, sadly it is gone forever."

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