Cochlospermum adjanyae, a flowering plant that grows mostly underground and was first recorded by scientists in Angola in 2023. STEVE BOYES

Thanks to Yale e360:

Ten Curious New Plants and Fungi Recorded in 2023

Aeranthes bigibbum. JOHAN HERMANS / RBG KEW

As the planet warms and extinctions mount, scientists are racing to catalog the vast array of life on Earth before species disappear. This year, researchers at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, recorded 89 new species of plant and fungi across the globe, from the rocky edges of Antarctica to a dormant volcano in Indonesia.

Baphia arenicola. DAVID GOYDER / RBG KEW

“It is an incredibly exciting time to be a scientist, but even as we make these wonderful new discoveries, we must remember that nature is under threat, and we have the power to do something about it,” Martin Cheek, a senior researcher with Kew, said in a statement.

Kew scientists highlighted 10 particularly notable varieties of plants and fungi recorded last year.

• Aeranthes bigibbum, a new variety of orchid marked by its translucent flowers, was recorded in a protected forest in Madagascar. Locals guard the forest, earning money from visitors who come to see the blue-beaked Helmet vangas that live in the woods. Were it not for the villagers protecting this rare bird, scientists believe the forest likely would have been cleared and the orchid lost…

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