Around 20% of currently listed flowering plant species are classified as at risk of extinction but the current criteria for assessing risk of extinction might be in need of revision.
Often species that are classified as at risk of extinction are young species that have not had time to grow and spread.
“In plants, we show that the processes of extinction and speciation are linked – seemingly the most vulnerable species are often the youngest…However, it is also possible that some plant species might be doomed to extinction from their very inception,” McGill University biologist Jonathan Davies said.
Read more at McGill University