'Paradise island' hosts untold botanical treasures
By Helen Briggs
BBC Environment correspondent
6 August 2020
RBG KEW
Image caption
A flower from a species of forest climbers
New Guinea has the highest plant diversity of any island in the world, botanists have discovered.
The first full inventory of plants on the world's largest tropical island reveals a treasure trove of flora.
More than 13,000 species can be found on New Guinea, ranging from tiny orchids to giant tree ferns, two-thirds of which do not exist elsewhere.
The findings, published in Nature, will be used to protect "one of the last unknowns for science".
Identifying and naming plants is the first step towards conserving and protecting the plants of New Guinea, said Dr Tim Utteridge of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
"If we lose them, there's no way we can restore them from anywhere else, because they're just not found outside the island," he said.
More:
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-53668124