A fifth of plants are threatened with extinction

One-fifth of all 400,000 plant species in the world are threatened with extinction – ccording to a new study.

The “state of the world's plants” report by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, is the first study of the global status of plants.

It warns that many plants are living on borrowed time in the face of large-scale agriculture and the international plant trade in fashionable flowers.

Climate change is also set to have an effect by drying out areas populated by certain plants, but scientists said this needs further investigation. (MTI)