By Helen Briggs BBC News
Almost 2,000 new species of plant
have been discovered in the past year, according to a report by The Royal
Botanic Gardens at Kew.
Many have potential as food
crops, medicines or sources of timber.
However, scientists say some of
the newly-discovered plants are already at risk of extinction.
They are developing new ways to
speed up the discovery and classification of plants to help safeguard them for
future generations.
The second annual assessment of
the State of the World's Plants by scientists at Kew found that 1,730 plants
were recorded as being new to science in 2016.
They include 11 new species from
Brazil of the Manihot shrub known for its starchy root, cassava.
Seven species of the South
African plant best known for red bush or rooibos tea were discovered, of which
six are already threatened with extinction.
Other discoveries include new
relatives of Aloe Vera, widely used in the cosmetics and pharmaceutical
industries.
Prof Kathy Willis, director of
science at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, said the new discoveries hold
"huge promise" for the future.
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