About the plant
This pink heather has been considered extinct in the wild for over 50 years, but is on the brink of being restored to the wild in South Africa.
-
Not yet evaluated
The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species uses a set of criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of the world’s species. The ongoing mission is to evaluate every plant species in the world.
IUCN Red List Status:
Not yet evaluatedData deficientLeast concernNear threatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically endangeredExtinct in the wildExtinct -
Banked in the MSBSeeds from this plant have been banked in Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank, at Wakehurst in Sussex
Facts
- Grows near rivers and wetlands
- Picked for the flower seller's market
- Needle-like leaves
- Tubular flowers
- Lost and rediscovered
By Stickpen via Wikimedia Commons
By FarOutFlora via flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
By Derek Keats via flickr, CC BY 2.0
K000313998
Back in the game
A cultivated specimen of Erica verticillata was rediscovered in a park in Pretoria in 1984. Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden led a campaign to repropagate the species. Nine distinct clones were found in gardens across the world, offering genetic diversity for the future of this heather.
While it remains extinct in the wild if it survives through three natural burn cycles (fires), without restocking or replanting, it can be considered ‘restored to the wild’.
-
Not yet evaluated
The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species uses a set of criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of the world’s species. The ongoing mission is to evaluate every plant species in the world.
IUCN Red List Status:
Not yet evaluatedData deficientLeast concernNear threatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically endangeredExtinct in the wildExtinct -
Banked in the MSBSeeds from this plant have been banked in Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank, at Wakehurst in Sussex