The Ngezi–Vumawimbi Forest Reserve is the largest remaining patch of natural vegetation on Pemba Island, Zanzibar, Tanzania. In 2024, in collaboration with the Department of Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture, Zanzibar, we conducted a baseline biodiversity survey of animal and plant communities. Preliminary results reveal previously unrecognized plant diversity, including species likely new to science that are currently under study. We confirmed the presence of endemic and threatened plant species, and recorded populations of species not previously reported on Pemba Island. We also confirmed the presence of a small population of blue duiker Philantomba monticola, currently under threat from poaching. One of the areas richest in plant diversity is designated for development of a new tourist resort. This would replace most of the Vumawimbi evergreen coastal forest, home to a unique forest type in continental Africa dominated by Intsia bijuga.

Assessing extinction risk is important for protecting species, as it is the starting point for conservation efforts. However, in Antarctica, none of the c. 116 species of bryophytes (the main terrestrial plant group) have been assessed. The global Aichi Biodiversity Targets stipulate that countries should have knowledge of the extinction risk of their entire flora. However, the Convention on Biological Diversity does not apply to the area of Antarctic Treaty governance, as Antarctica is not subject to national sovereignty. Recognizing the importance of understanding threats in this remote and ecologically sensitive region, we assessed the extinction risk of the moss Roaldia revoluta (Pylaisiaceae) in Antarctica. As far as we are aware, this is the first extinction risk assessment of a native plant on the Antarctic continent. Additionally, we provide a tool for estimating the number of bryophyte individuals. Our findings indicate R. revoluta should be categorized as Endangered. The species has not been documented in any Antarctic Specially Protected Area, suggesting both weakness in survey effort and a potential gap in conservation action. This study underscores the need for specific measures to mitigate the extinction risk faced by R. revoluta as an exemplar of threats facing Antarctic mosses, and emphasizes the importance of devoting resources to conserving Antarctic flora. This study will encourage further initiatives to investigate the risks facing Antarctic botanical diversity and strengthen support for safeguarding the continent’s biodiversity.

One of the major challenges in combatting biodiversity loss concerns range-restricted taxa that are of conservation importance because of their reduced and threatened populations. Astragalus is a genus with many polymorphic species, adapted to arid and semi-arid ecosystems, some of which require urgent conservation attention. Astragalus centralis E. Sheld., endemic to Uzbekistan, is known from a single population in the Tamditau low mountains of the Kyzylkum Desert. Its population is extremely small and continues to decline as a result of threats from limestone extraction, overgrazing, climate change and extreme weather events. Field assessments indicate that this plant is at high risk of extinction, with limited regeneration capacity and ongoing habitat degradation. Using the IUCN Red List criteria, we assess A. centralis as Critically Endangered. Urgent conservation measures are necessary to secure its survival, including habitat protection, conservation translocation, ex situ propagation and regulated grazing, and the ecosystem in which this species occurs should be assessed for the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems. Raising public awareness and securing international recognition for the species are also required. This study highlights the significance of taxonomy in identifying species of conservation priority. The recognition of A. centralis as a unique species has led to it being identified as in urgent need of protection, and reaffirms the importance of taxonomic reassessments in conservation.

Rediscoveries of endemic plant species previously believed lost recalibrate conservation priorities by revealing relict populations and underscore the need for botanical surveys. Since its description in 1927, Ravenea latisecta, a palm species endemic to Madagascar, had been considered lost for nearly a century. Numerous palm collections failed to find wild populations, raising doubts about its existence. During a 2024 botanical survey in the Andasibe region, we rediscovered the species in Vohimana Reserve, Analamazoatra–Mantadia National Park and Vakona Forest private reserve. We recorded a total of 28 individuals within a limited area of c. 50 km2. Our findings suggest a provisional categorization as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. All known individuals are located within protected areas, under various management regimes. Monitoring will be essential to evaluate potential threats, track population dynamics and study the species’ reproductive biology. This rediscovery highlights the critical role of fieldwork in Madagascar, where species believed lost may persist in overlooked forest patches. Our rediscovery shows that conserving even small forest remnants can safeguard species, and has conservation implications: integrated strategies are needed to secure the future of narrowly endemic palm species.

Monotypic taxa, often defined by unique evolutionary histories, disjunct distributions, and narrow ecological niches, are of exceptional conservation importance. Here, we document the rediscovery of Indianthus virgatus (Marantaceae), a Critically Endangered monotypic species, in Sri Lanka after 170 years. Endemic to the Western Ghats–Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot, the species was presumed possibly extinct in the wild in Sri Lanka, with the last known collection made by G.H.K. Thwaites in 1855. During targeted surveys conducted over 2 years, we located a wild population of I. virgatus along the Sitawaka Ganga River in a lowland evergreen forest fragment in Sabaragamuwa Province. Morphological analyses confirmed the species’ identity and revealed hitherto undocumented characteristics, including the presence of 1–3 seeds per fruit. This rediscovery after 170 years highlights the importance of targeted field surveys and the urgent need to conserve this Critically Endangered species under the national biodiversity conservation framework.

Plantago fengdouensis, a species endemic to China’s Yangtze River Basin, was once presumed extinct in the wild as a result of the complete inundation of its native habitats following the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. Historically documented only on two riverine islets in Fengdu and Zhongxian counties of Chongqing, the species was last observed in 2003 before its habitats were permanently submerged, leading to its designation as the first documented herbaceous plant driven to extinction by the dam project. However, in 2023 a previously unknown population of > 200 individuals was discovered in Jiang’an County, Sichuan Province, representing the largest known wild population to date. From January to May 2023, 273 seeds were collected and conservation research was conducted in the botanical greenhouse of Yibin University. The key to the germination of P. fengdouensis seeds lies in the harvest period. Seeds with light brown seed coats that are not fully mature have the highest germination vitality. Through systematic germination trials, optimal conditions were identified as 24 h pretreatment with 1.0% gibberellin under 28 ℃ and 1,500 Lux illumination, achieving an 87.5% germination rate. During May–November 2024, nursery-grown seedlings were transplanted near the wild population, with an initial 89% establishment success and 98.5% survival after 12 months. These results suggest that P. fengdouensis populations can be effectively restored in situ through seed-based propagation, offering a model for conserving other threatened floodplain species.