Photo courtesy Fauna & Flora International
Tea Species Threatened
Theaceae species are experiencing population declines worldwide
Despite hundreds of millions of cultivated plants producing billions of kilos annually, researchers report two of the world’s tea species could soon be extinct.
A “Red List” of endangered Theaceae trees, compiled by the Global Trees Campaign, reveals up to 45% of the camellia species are at risk of extinction in the wild.
Trees are considered critically threatened when fewer than 50 individuals are found in the wild. There are an estimated 10,000 tree species known to be threatened.
The research, as reported by Phys.org, was financed as a joint initiative by Fauna & Flora International and Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI). Fauna & Flora is the world’s oldest international conservation organization.
Camellia sinensis, the source of tea leaves on which the industry relies, was assessed as “data deficient, due to a lack of available information on the species wild population, despite its global cultivation,” according to the report.
Researchers identified 254 Theaceae species in the 2017 assessment, of which 32 are critically endangered. Among this group 85 (equivalent to 33%) are judged to be threatened with extinction.
Learn more: globaltrees.org
- By Dan Bolton