Cameroon Africa. December 2010 (Cameroon News) - A fresh specimen of tropical mistletoe has been located in Cameroon around Christmas.
As United Nation commemorates the International Year of Biodiversity this year scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew have got a reason to celebrate the variety in the plant and fungal species of Planet earth as they reveal some exciting yet shocking findings that they made during the course of the year in the rainforests located in the vicinity of Cameroon.
And surprisingly it is noit just the new discoveries that have evoked the sense of exhilaration. Adding to the excitement were discoveries of numerous species which had been thought of as destroyed or extinct which were found to be still very much existent in the wilds of the Central African country.
Professor Stephen Hopper, Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew says with great animation,
Cameroon biodiversity wildlife animals plants
“Each year, botanists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, working in collaboration with local partners and scientists, continue to explore, document and study the world’s plant and fungal diversity, making astonishing new discoveries from microscopic fungi to canopy giants.
“This work has never been more relevant and pressing than in the current era of global climate change and unprecedented loss of biodiversity.Without a name, plants and fungi go unrecognised, their uses unexplored, their wonders unknown.
“On average, 2,000 new plant species are discovered each year, and Kew botanists, using our vast collection of over 8 million plant and fungal specimens, contribute to the description of approximately 10 per cent of these new discoveries. Despite more than 250 years of naming living plants, applying each with a unique descriptive scientific name, we are still some decades away from finishing the task of a global inventory of plants, and even more so for fungi.
“Plants are at risk and extinction is a reality. However stories of discovery and rediscovery give us hope that species can cling on and their recovery is a very real possibility. Continuing support for botanical science is essential if plant based solutions to human challenges, such as climate change, are to be realised.”
