Palm trees can be ubiquitous in tropical climates worldwide and are quite popular in cultivation even in locales outside of their traditional climate zones. But did you know how many palm species are considered ‘endangered’ in their natural habitats? In a fall 2022 article published by Kew Gardens, a study done with collaborators at the Universities of Zurich and Amsterdam suggested that over half of all palm species in the world may become threatened with extinction! The study was done using the data from the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) ‘Red List’, which details all species at various risk stages in their natural habitats.
With that in mind, we felt it important enough to identify the species’ conservation status on each species page on our website. Starting today, we will begin updating all active species pages with the current IUCN conservation status. You will see this in the data table adjacent to the Cultivation Tips on the species page. The IUCN Conservation scale can be found below:
We hope you find this additional information useful.
Thanks again for being a member of Project Palm!