2019 Plant Discoveries Include a Cancer-Fighting Fungus and More
102 plants and eight fungi were officially named by experts at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in 2019 (roughly 2,000 new species are named worldwide every year). Among the roster of the recently identified are a few additions with remarkable attributes, including a bamboo fungus from Yunnan that can fight cancer; a “miracle” berry, from the Chimanimani Mountains, that tricks tastebuds; and a rubbery shrub, found along a single waterfall at the Bafing River, that oozes a type of superglue. This year’s rarest find was a zonozono tree, in the ylang-ylang family—only seven of these trees are known to exist. Plants account for 82% of all life on Earth and their importance cannot be diminished. The new discoveries are exciting but as with all other flora, they must be protected. Read more at The Guardian.
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