Endangered Trees
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Endangered Trees
More than one-third of the world's tree species face extinction, making trees one of the largest groups of organisms assessed as threatened globally. The Global Tree Assessment and related conservation programs have documented widespread declines caused by habitat destruction, agricultural expansion, logging, livestock grazing, urbanization, fire, climate change, invasive species, and unsustainable harvesting. The crisis affects trees across every inhabited continent and includes species with only a handful of surviving individuals as well as commercially valuable trees that have been depleted across large portions of their historical ranges.
Tree extinction has consequences far beyond the loss of individual species. Trees provide habitat and food for wildlife, regulate water and carbon cycles, stabilize soils, support forest ecosystems, and provide timber, medicine, food, fuel, and other resources for human communities. Because many threatened trees are restricted to small geographic areas, protecting individual forests or even single sites can sometimes prevent a global extinction.
Global Status of Endangered Trees
The Global Tree Assessment represents the first comprehensive attempt to evaluate the extinction risk of the world's known tree species. Its findings show that more than one in three tree species is threatened with extinction. Earlier global assessments had already identified thousands of threatened trees, but modern databases, geographic analysis, field surveys, and IUCN Red List assessments have greatly expanded knowledge of the scale of the problem.
The threats vary among regions and species, but habitat conversion is among the most widespread. Agricultural expansion, logging, livestock farming, mining, urban development, and infrastructure projects can eliminate or fragment forests. Fire, drought, invasive organisms, overharvesting, and climate change further reduce populations and can prevent seedlings from successfully replacing mature trees.
Some endangered species occur at only one or a few known sites. Research has identified thousands of Endangered or Critically Endangered trees that may depend on protection of a single conservation area. Such extremely restricted distributions make these species particularly vulnerable to fires, storms, disease, development, or other localized events.
Conservation Strategies
Tree conservation increasingly combines protection of natural habitat with seed banking, propagation, botanical-garden collections, restoration, translocation, reintroduction, genetic research, and cooperation with local communities.
Seed banks provide insurance against extinction by preserving genetic material that can later be used for research, propagation, and restoration. Botanical gardens also maintain living collections of threatened trees. Increasingly, institutions coordinate their collections as "metacollections" so that genetically diverse individuals are distributed among multiple gardens rather than concentrated in a single location.
Propagation research is especially important for species that produce few seeds, have poor germination, or survive as extremely small populations. Conservationists have developed techniques involving cuttings, grafting, nursery cultivation, and controlled germination to increase numbers of rare trees.
Reintroduction and translocation programs move propagated plants into protected habitats or reinforce declining wild populations. Successful conservation frequently requires long-term habitat management as well as continued monitoring after trees are planted.
Community involvement is also central to many projects. Conservation organizations work with governments, landowners, farmers, Indigenous communities, and local residents to identify surviving trees, collect seeds, operate nurseries, restore forests, and reduce destructive harvesting.
Endangered Trees in Africa
Africa contains many globally threatened trees, including species restricted to small remnants of tropical forest, woodland, and mountain habitat.
Kenya has more than one hundred globally threatened native tree species and has developed national conservation programs that combine seed collection, propagation, forest restoration, and institutional cooperation. Restoration projects have incorporated rare native species into recovering forests and have identified mature "mother trees" as important sources of seeds for future planting.
Ghana contains more than one hundred threatened native trees. Conservation programs have focused on species such as Talbotiella gentii, a Critically Endangered tree surviving in fragmented forests threatened by agriculture, charcoal production, fire, and habitat clearance.
Nigeria has also developed propagation and restoration programs for threatened native trees, including Khaya senegalensis and Pterocarpus erinaceus.
Tanzania contains exceptionally rare species such as Karomia gigas, which was once believed extinct. Rediscovered populations remain threatened by logging, charcoal production, and fire.
Madagascar is particularly important because of its high number of endemic trees. Large numbers of these species are threatened by logging, agricultural expansion, habitat fragmentation, and fire.
Malawi's Mulanje cedar, Widdringtonia whytei, has suffered severe declines from illegal logging and repeated wildfire and is now considered Critically Endangered.
Endangered Trees in Asia
Asia contains many of the world's rarest trees, particularly in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, and other regions containing rapidly declining forests.
China is home to extraordinarily rare species such as Abies beshanzuensis, one of the world's rarest conifers. Its tiny population and poor natural reproduction make conservation especially difficult. Other Chinese conservation programs have focused on magnolias and rare trees such as Acer yangbiense, which has benefited from propagation, population surveys, habitat protection, and reintroduction.
India's Western Ghats contain numerous endangered endemic trees. Madhuca diplostemon was rediscovered after more than a century, while Buchanania barberi became the subject of reintroduction efforts when only two mature individuals were known.
Indonesia and Malaysia contain many threatened dipterocarps. Logging, agricultural expansion, and conversion of lowland forests have severely reduced species such as Vatica cauliflora, Vatica javanica, Hopea sangal, and several Shorea species.
Conservation programs increasingly combine surveys, national planning, propagation, ex situ collections, and translocation to preserve these species.
Endangered Trees in Latin America
Latin America contains extensive concentrations of threatened trees, particularly in the Atlantic Forest, Andean forests, cloud forests, and other highly fragmented ecosystems.
Brazil's Atlantic Forest contains endangered species such as brazilwood and Cedrela fissilis. Conservation efforts incorporate threatened native trees into large-scale forest restoration.
Chile has conservation programs targeting rare native trees including Nothofagus alessandrii and Gomortega keule, which face habitat fragmentation, plantation forestry, fire, and poor regeneration.
Peruvian conservation projects have developed propagation and recovery programs for extremely rare species including Myrcianthes ferreyrae, Parkinsonia peruviana, and Pradosia argentea.
Bolivia's Cinchona anderssonii is being conserved through seed collection, propagation, reintroduction, and public education.
Mexico contains numerous endangered magnolias and oaks associated with disappearing cloud forests and mountain habitats. Many of these species have extremely restricted distributions and depend on protection of remaining forest fragments.
Oaks and Temperate Trees
Oaks are among the most ecologically important temperate trees, yet nearly one-third of the world's oak species have been identified as threatened.
Several North American oaks have very small distributions. Boynton oak, maple-leaf oak, Hinckley oak, and Georgia oak survive in specialized or fragmented habitats. Mexican and Central American oaks are also threatened by deforestation and conversion of montane forests.
Colombia's black oak is the subject of restoration experiments involving mycorrhizal fungi, which may help seedlings establish more successfully in degraded forests.
Other famous temperate trees also face conservation concerns. Giant sequoia is classified as Endangered in its native Sierra Nevada range as increasingly severe wildfire, drought, and altered fire regimes threaten remaining groves.
Ginkgo biloba is cultivated widely throughout the world, but its natural populations remain of conservation concern.
Endangered Conifers
Conifers include some of the world's rarest and most threatened trees.
The Brazilian araucaria, Araucaria angustifolia, is Critically Endangered after extensive historical logging reduced its forests to a fraction of their former extent. The monkey puzzle tree, Araucaria araucana, is also threatened by fire, grazing, and land conversion.
The Sicilian fir, Abies nebrodensis, survives as one of Europe's rarest conifers, while the Saharan cypress, Cupressus dupreziana, persists in an isolated Algerian population with very limited regeneration.
Florida torreya experienced a catastrophic population decline during the twentieth century and remains one of North America's most imperiled conifers. Florida yew also survives in a very restricted geographic area.
Asian conifers face similar threats. Vietnamese golden cypress, Qiaojia pine, several rare firs and spruces, and other species survive as small or fragmented populations threatened by logging, habitat destruction, climate change, fire, and poor regeneration.
Island Trees and Extremely Small Populations
Island trees are especially vulnerable because many evolved in geographic isolation and naturally occur only within very small areas.
The Wollemi pine is a famous example. Known from only a tiny number of wild populations in Australia, it is maintained in botanical gardens and conservation collections around the world to reduce the risk that a single disaster could eliminate the species.
On Rapa Nui, Sophora toromiro is extinct in the wild but survives in cultivated collections. Scientists and local residents are attempting to return the species to its native island.
Saint Helena contains several extremely rare endemic trees whose populations were devastated by centuries of habitat destruction and introduced organisms.
Mauritius also contains many severely threatened endemic trees. Hyophorbe amaricaulis is among the most extreme cases, surviving as a single known individual.
Pacific islands contain endangered species such as Serianthes nelsonii in the Mariana Islands and Melicope stonei on Kaua'i. Their restricted distributions make them particularly vulnerable to storms, invasive animals, insects, fire, and habitat alteration.
Threatened Timber and Economically Important Trees
Commercial exploitation has placed many valuable trees at risk.
Rosewoods are among the most heavily affected. Siamese rosewood and Brazilian rosewood have experienced extensive illegal or historical logging driven by demand for luxury furniture and decorative hardwood.
Mahoganies, including big-leaf mahogany and West Indian mahogany, have experienced centuries of selective logging. African hardwoods such as sapele, sipo, tiama, African mahogany, iroko, bubinga, and West African rosewood have also declined under international timber demand.
Brazilwood has been exploited for centuries, first for dye and later for highly valued musical-instrument bows. Its conservation has become the subject of international debate over trade restrictions.
African cherry, Prunus africana, is harvested for medicinal bark. Conservation therefore requires both protection of wild populations and development of sustainable harvesting methods.
Rare frankincense trees also face grazing, fuelwood harvesting, poor regeneration, and other pressures.
Dipterocarps
Dipterocarps dominate many tropical forests of South and Southeast Asia and include numerous endangered timber trees.
Vatica cauliflora was rediscovered decades after its scientific description but survives in fragmented and degraded Indonesian forests. Vatica javanica includes highly threatened populations on Java and has become the subject of translocation programs.
Anisoptera scaphula is threatened by forest loss and timber exploitation, but propagation and planting programs in Bangladesh have helped establish new populations.
Species such as Dryobalanops rappa, Shorea balangeran, Shorea bentongensis, Hopea subalata, and other dipterocarps are threatened by logging, drainage, fire, agricultural conversion, and destruction of lowland and peat-swamp forests.
Because dipterocarps are major structural components of tropical forests, their decline can affect entire forest ecosystems.
Endangered Magnolias
Magnolias are among the most prominent groups of endangered trees. Many species have extremely small geographic ranges and occur in threatened cloud forests or tropical mountain forests.
China contains several exceptionally rare magnolias. Conservation efforts have used propagation, population surveys, living collections, reinforcement, and reintroduction to prevent extinction.
Mexico also contains numerous threatened magnolias, including Magnolia dealbata, Magnolia schiedeana, Magnolia vazquezii, and Magnolia perezfarrerae. Their remaining habitats are increasingly fragmented by agriculture and development.
Colombia contains threatened Andean magnolias such as Magnolia wolfii, Magnolia yarumalensis, and Magnolia silvioi. Continued forest loss and fragmentation place these localized species at considerable risk.
Why Endangered Trees Matter
The disappearance of tree species can transform entire ecosystems. Trees often provide food, shelter, nesting sites, shade, soil stability, and microclimates used by many other organisms. Their roots influence soil and water systems, while their leaves and wood store large quantities of carbon.
Some trees also have deep economic and cultural importance. Communities depend on trees for timber, fruit, medicine, fuel, livestock forage, shade, religious traditions, and local livelihoods.
Because trees often live for decades or centuries, population decline may be difficult to recognize until reproduction has already failed. A forest may still contain mature trees while producing few or no surviving seedlings, creating an extinction process that becomes visible only many years later.
Conserving trees therefore requires protecting not only surviving adult individuals but also the ecological conditions that allow future generations to grow.
Conclusion
The global endangered-tree crisis encompasses tens of thousands of species and nearly every type of forest ecosystem. Habitat destruction, logging, agricultural expansion, fire, overharvesting, climate change, invasive organisms, and poor natural regeneration are driving many species toward extinction.
At the same time, conservation programs demonstrate that extinction is not inevitable. Field surveys can rediscover overlooked populations, seed banks can preserve genetic diversity, botanical gardens can maintain living collections, propagation can increase critically small populations, and restoration can return threatened trees to protected habitats.
The most successful programs combine scientific research with habitat protection, long-term monitoring, government support, botanical institutions, and participation by local communities. Because some endangered trees survive at only one or a few locations, targeted conservation action can make the difference between permanent extinction and recovery.
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Global Status of Endangered Trees
| IUCN | International Union for Conservation of Nature | 2024-10-28
More than one in three tree species worldwide faces extinction, according to the first comprehensive Global Tree Assessment.
| Malin Rivers et al. | Applications in Plant Sciences | 2024
The Conservation Action Tracker records recovery plans, seed collections, propagation programs, habitat management, and other conservation measures for thousands of tree species.
| Malin Rivers et al. | Applications in Plant Sciences / PubMed Central | 2024
Researchers describe a global database designed to identify which threatened tree species receive conservation action and where major gaps remain.
| Charles H. Cannon | Plants, People, Planet | 2023
An overview of the Global Tree Assessment discusses what the worldwide inventory of threatened trees means for future conservation priorities.
| Malin Rivers, Adrian C. Newton, Sara Oldfield et al. | Plants, People, Planet | 2022-08-31
Scientists warn that widespread tree extinctions could disrupt ecosystems, biodiversity, carbon and water cycles, and human livelihoods.
| Silva et al. | Frontiers in Plant Science | 2022
Researchers used artificial intelligence and geographic information to estimate extinction risk among tree species that had not yet received formal assessments.
| Botanic Gardens Conservation International | BGCI | 2021
The State of the World's Trees report found roughly 30 percent of known tree species threatened with extinction and identified agriculture, logging, livestock farming, urbanization, and fire as major pressures.
| Sara Oldfield et al. | United Nations Environment Programme | 1998-10-26
One of the earliest worldwide surveys compiled information on thousands of threatened tree species and highlighted the need for coordinated conservation.
| Sara Oldfield, Charlotte Lusty and Amy MacKinven | IUCN | 1998
The World List of Threatened Trees provided conservation assessments for more than 7,000 globally threatened tree species.
The Global Tree Specialist Group coordinates worldwide assessment, planning, and conservation action aimed at preventing tree extinctions.
Conservation Strategies, Science, and Priorities
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | 2026-07-09
New IUCN assessments reassessed Britain's highly threatened endemic whitebeams, rowans, and service trees.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | 2026-06-04
Projects in several countries demonstrate how local communities, governments, and conservation groups can cooperate to protect highly threatened trees.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Kew | 2026-05-29
Seeds from the last known wild Dendroseris neriifolia tree on Robinson Crusoe Island were germinated as part of an emergency effort to prevent extinction.
| Abu Siddique | Mongabay | 2026-04
Conservationists propagated and planted the Endangered dipterocarp Anisoptera scaphula throughout Bangladesh after overcoming difficulties germinating its seeds.
| Fernanda Wenzel, Spoorthy Raman and Emmanuelle Picaud | Mongabay | 2026-02-27
International debate over Brazilwood trade protections highlights continuing pressure on the Endangered national tree of Brazil.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | 2026-02-26
Surveys in Sabah located previously unknown populations of Critically Endangered Adonidia dransfieldii and Saurauia sammanniana.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Kew | 2026-01-08
Newly described tree species illustrate how plants can become scientifically known only after their forests are already heavily threatened.
| University of Guam | University of Guam | 2026
Critically Endangered Serianthes nelsonii seedlings were planted into protected habitat on Guam as part of efforts to restore one of the world's rarest trees.
| Researchers | Scientific African | 2026
Research on Critically Endangered Talbotiella gentii examines differences in germination among populations and its potential for restoration and ex-situ conservation.
| BGCI | BGCI Year in Review | 2026
BGCI reports conservation projects in dozens of countries involving hundreds of threatened trees, including seed banking, propagation, planting, and protection.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | 2025-12-01
A South American training program expanded expertise in propagating threatened trees and transferring conservation knowledge between institutions.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | 2025-11-25
Conservationists from Central America and the Caribbean developed and shared propagation methods for endangered native trees.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | 2025-05-09
Conservationists combine propagation, seed conservation, reintroduction, and public education to recover Critically Endangered Cinchona anderssonii.
| Keith Anthony Fabro | Mongabay | 2025-04-23
Research finds the international agarwood trade remains heavily dependent on wild populations of threatened Aquilaria trees.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | 2025-04-02
Hundreds of additional trees were added to the IUCN Red List, including increasingly threatened frankincense species from Socotra.
| Patrick Barkham | The Guardian | 2025-03-29
Bedgebury National Pinetum functions as a living conservation collection for endangered conifers from around the world.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | 2025-03-25
Botanical gardens increasingly use coordinated metacollections to maintain genetically diverse populations of species that may disappear from the wild.
| Jonathan Watts | The Guardian | 2025-02-19
Scientists and Rapa Nui residents are attempting to return the toromiro tree, Sophora toromiro, which is extinct in the wild.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | 2025
Propagation by cuttings is being used to safeguard Critically Endangered Cola lorougnonis from Côte d'Ivoire.
| Indonesian Tree Conservation Network | Oryx | 2025
Indonesian institutions planted hundreds of individuals representing dozens of threatened tree species into ex-situ collections.
| Wiley | Wiley Newsroom | 2024-12-18
Research in Ecuador's Amazon found exceptionally high predicted extinction risk among endemic tree species.
| Henry J. Ndangalasi and Norbert J. Cordeiro | Oryx | 2024-10-15
Surveys documented surviving populations of Critically Endangered Cola porphyrantha and Endangered Gigasiphon macrosiphon in Tanzania.
| Researchers | Conservation Science and Practice | 2024
Researchers identify thousands of Endangered and Critically Endangered trees potentially restricted to single sites, highlighting locations where protection could prevent extinctions.
| Radim Maděra et al. | Plants, People, Planet | 2024
Assessments of Socotra's frankincense trees found widespread extinction risk and severe failure of natural regeneration where goats can browse seedlings.
| Researchers | Frontiers in Conservation Science | 2024
Traditional ecological knowledge can provide important information for recovering threatened species when formal scientific data are limited.
| Fauna & Flora | Virachey Survey Report | 2024
Surveys in Cambodia's Virachey landscape documented threatened trees including Dalbergia cochinchinensis and several dipterocarps.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | 2023
A special journal issue brings together global tree assessments, extinction-risk research, reintroductions, and successful conservation case studies.
| Ecosia, Fauna & Flora International and BGCI | Ecosia | 2021-07-02
An overview explains why threatened tree species have historically received less conservation attention than many endangered animals.
| The Morton Arboretum | The Morton Arboretum | 2021-09-17
The Morton Arboretum explains the scale of the tree extinction crisis and the importance of assessment, seed conservation, living collections, and habitat protection.
| Fauna & Flora and BGCI | Global Trees Campaign | 2021
A global review describes strategies for preventing tree extinctions through national planning, propagation, restoration, and local partnerships.
| Fondation Franklinia | Fondation Franklinia | 2020-09-17
International conservation grants supported projects targeting hundreds of threatened tree species across dozens of countries.
| Fauna & Flora International | Conservation Report | 2020
Fauna & Flora reports conservation work involving more than one hundred threatened tree species in countries around the world.
| Kew Science News | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | 2019-07-19
Kew highlights threatened trees from Guinea and Madagascar and explains how Red List assessments help identify the species and habitats most urgently requiring protection.
| USDA Forest Service | USDA Forest Service | 2017
Proceedings on tree gene conservation examine seed banking and genetic-resource programs for threatened and endangered trees.
| Hai Ren et al. | Oryx / USDA Forest Service | 2016
Researchers found that grafted seedlings improved conservation-translocation prospects for Critically Endangered Manglietia longipedunculata in China.
Tree conservation requires combining habitat protection, living collections, seed conservation, restoration, research, and long-term financial support.
| FAO | Food and Agriculture Organization | 1986
A major reference compiles biological and conservation information for endangered tree and shrub species and their genetic resources.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Kew Science | n.d.
The Weston Global Tree Seed Bank Programme works internationally to safeguard seeds from rare, threatened, and useful tree species.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | n.d.
The Global Tree Assessment works with taxonomists to assess newly discovered tree species before habitat loss pushes poorly known species toward extinction.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | n.d.
Assessment of Central African endemic trees found an exceptionally high proportion at risk from agriculture, logging, charcoal production, mining, and climate change.
| International Tree Foundation | International Tree Foundation | n.d.
Community-based projects in Kenya identify mother trees, propagate threatened native species, and restore populations in degraded landscapes.
African Endangered Trees
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | 2023-03-15
Government agencies, researchers, and conservation groups developed a coordinated strategy for Ghana's most threatened endemic and near-endemic trees.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | 2022
Nigerian conservationists propagated Khaya senegalensis, Pterocarpus erinaceus, and other threatened native trees for restoration and community planting.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | 2022
Restoration efforts followed a damaging fire in Madagascar's Ankafobe Forest, habitat for the Critically Endangered Schizolaena tampoketsana.
| Bioversity International | Forest Genetic Resources Training Guide | 2011
Talbotiella gentii provides a case study in conserving genetically isolated tree populations surviving in fragmented Ghanaian forests.
| Boshier, Dompreh and Swaine | FAO | 2011
A conservation case study examines genetic variation and management options for Critically Endangered Talbotiella gentii.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | n.d.
Restoration at Brackenhurst in Kenya incorporates more than 100 rare native trees, including numerous globally threatened species.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | n.d.
Conservationists identified dozens of Nigerian trees requiring urgent protection and established propagation and ex situ conservation programs.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | n.d.
Karomia gigas, once believed extinct, survives in extremely small Tanzanian populations threatened by logging, charcoal production, and fire.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | n.d.
More than one hundred native Ghanaian tree species are threatened, prompting national planning for their conservation.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | n.d.
The Critically Endangered Mulanje cedar of Malawi has suffered severe population declines from illegal cutting and habitat degradation.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | n.d.
Comprehensive assessment showed an exceptionally high proportion of Madagascar's endemic trees threatened with extinction.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | n.d.
Logging, agricultural expansion, and fire have placed hundreds of Madagascar's unique tree species in threatened categories.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | n.d.
Kenya has more than one hundred globally threatened native trees and has established a national consortium to coordinate their conservation.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | n.d.
Restoration programs in Kenya combine native-tree propagation, seed collection, training, and conservation of threatened trees.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | n.d.
Restoration of cocoa-growing landscapes in Côte d'Ivoire is being redesigned to include a wider diversity of threatened indigenous trees.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Talbotiella gentii is a Critically Endangered Ghanaian tree threatened by forest clearance, agriculture, charcoal production, and fire.
Asian Endangered Trees
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | 2026-04-09
Field projects improved knowledge of Critically Endangered Magnolia zenii in China and Endangered Tecomella undulata in Pakistan.
| Xingjian Liu et al. | BMC Plant Biology | 2025-08-09
Conservation genomics research investigates the mitochondrial genome of the exceptionally rare Abies beshanzuensis.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | 2024-12-16
Malaysian conservation institutions developed a national approach for protecting the country's exceptionally rich but threatened tree flora.
| X.L. Chu, Y.K. Wei and W. Yan | Global Botanic Gardens Congress | 2024
Researchers describe integrated conservation work for Magnolia zenii, a highly endangered tree restricted to eastern China.
| Researchers | Global Ecology and Conservation | 2024
Research examines why seeds and seedlings of Critically Endangered Abies beshanzuensis have such poor reproductive success.
Critically Endangered Ostrya rehderiana flowered at Kunming Botanical Garden, an important milestone for its ex-situ conservation.
| A.K. Sreekala et al. | Oryx | 2023-12-11
Madhuca diplostemon was rediscovered in India after more than a century and is now the subject of a dedicated restoration program.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | 2023
Conservationists worked to translocate Vatica javanica subsp. javanica, a Critically Endangered dipterocarp surviving in only a few Indonesian populations.
| Anurag Dhyani et al. | Plants, People, Planet | 2022-09-26
Researchers document reintroduction of Buchanania barberi, a Critically Endangered Western Ghats tree with only two known mature individuals.
| Current Conservation | Current Conservation | 2022-09-15
Field researchers describe searches for rare and endangered trees, including Critically Endangered Dipterocarpus bourdillonii in India's Western Ghats.
| Jing Yang et al. | Plants, People, Planet | 2022-06-08
Integrated conservation helped rescue Acer yangbiense in China through propagation, population discovery, protected sites, and reintroductions.
| Martin Cheek and Jean Michel Onana | Kew Bulletin | 2021-11-18
The paper describes Vepris zapfackii, a newly recognized Critically Endangered cloud-forest tree from Cameroon and illustrates how new species can already be close to extinction.
| Iyan Robiansyah et al. | Oryx | 2021-03-02
Surveys rediscovered Vatica cauliflora in West Kalimantan and documented continuing habitat degradation from agriculture and logging.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | 2021
Magnolia omeiensis survives in very small populations on Mount Emei and faces logging and reproductive limitations.
| V.B. Sreekumar et al. | Journal of Threatened Taxa | 2020-12-26
Researchers document the distribution of the Critically Endangered Syzygium travancoricum in the Western Ghats.
| Daoping Yu et al. | Oryx | 2020-06-09
Research on Parakmeria omeiensis documents an extremely small wild population and integrated conservation measures.
| Weibang Sun et al. | Oryx | 2016
Surveys located only 52 wild Magnolia sinica trees and demonstrated the importance of propagation, reinforcement, and reintroduction.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Abies beshanzuensis is one of the world's rarest conifers and is classified as Critically Endangered.
| Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh | Threatened Conifers of the World | n.d.
The Baishan fir survives as only a handful of wild trees and faces severe problems with population size and natural regeneration.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Glyptostrobus pensilis, the Chinese swamp cypress, is a highly threatened conifer whose natural populations have declined drastically.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
The West Himalayan yew faces conservation concerns associated with exploitation, restricted populations, and habitat pressures.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | n.d.
Carpinus hebestroma and Pyrenaria buisanensis survive in very restricted Taiwanese populations vulnerable to typhoons and landslides.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Magnolia sinica is a Critically Endangered tree restricted to southeastern Yunnan, China.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Hopea sangal is a threatened Southeast Asian dipterocarp affected by habitat destruction and exploitation.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Shorea bentongensis is a narrowly distributed Malaysian dipterocarp facing extinction risks from forest loss.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Shorea kunstleri is among the Southeast Asian dipterocarps affected by logging and conversion of lowland forest.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Hopea subalata is a Malaysian tree with a highly restricted natural range and significant conservation concern.
Latin American Endangered Trees
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | 2025-05-09
Conservationists combine propagation, seed conservation, reintroduction, and public education to recover Critically Endangered Cinchona anderssonii.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | 2025
Field surveys and propagation increased knowledge and living collections of the highly threatened Reinhardtia paiewonskiana in the Dominican Republic.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | 2024
A nursery and restoration project propagated and planted hundreds of endangered endemic trees and other native plants in Puerto Rico.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | 2022
Conservationists developed propagation and recovery plans for Myrcianthes ferreyrae, Parkinsonia peruviana, and Pradosia argentea.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | 2022
Nothofagus alessandrii and Gomortega keule are threatened by forest fragmentation, plantations, fires, and poor regeneration in Chile.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | 2021
Restoration projects in Brazil's Atlantic Forest incorporate threatened species including brazilwood and Cedrela fissilis.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | n.d.
A conservation program seeks to restore threatened native trees in one of the world's most fragmented forest ecosystems.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | n.d.
Mexico's Endangered arroyo oak has experienced exceptionally poor natural regeneration and requires active conservation.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | n.d.
Projects in Mexico target extremely rare cloud-forest trees including Croton rosarianus and Critically Endangered Bernardia macrocarpa.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Magnolia tamaulipana is an Endangered Mexican cloud-forest tree with a highly restricted range.
Oaks, Temperate, and Relict Trees
| Sofia Moutinho | Mongabay | 2024-09-12
Researchers are testing mycorrhizal fungi to improve restoration success for Colombia's Endangered black oak.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | 2023
Institutions are building genetically diverse conservation collections of Boynton oak, a Critically Endangered tree from Alabama.
| IUCN | International Union for Conservation of Nature | 2020-12
A comprehensive assessment found nearly one-third of the world's oak species threatened with extinction.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Quercus brandegeei is a narrowly distributed Mexican oak whose future depends on successful regeneration and protection.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Boynton oak survives in small, localized populations associated with sandstone glades in the southeastern United States.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Hinckley oak is an exceptionally localized southwestern U.S. oak threatened by its tiny population and restricted habitat.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Maple-leaf oak is a geographically restricted North American oak of significant conservation concern.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Oglethorpe oak occurs in scattered southeastern U.S. populations vulnerable to habitat change and other ecological pressures.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Georgia oak illustrates how narrow habitat specialization can leave tree species vulnerable to environmental change.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Quercus insignis is a Mesoamerican oak associated with threatened montane forest ecosystems.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Island oak occurs naturally on a limited number of islands off California and Mexico and remains a conservation priority.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Colombian black oak is an Endangered Andean tree whose fragmented forests are targets for ecological restoration.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Quercus germana is a Mexican oak associated with increasingly fragmented montane forests.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Quercus hintonii has an extremely restricted range in Mexico and is threatened by habitat conversion.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Sartorius oak occurs in Mexican forests where deforestation and land-use change continue to affect native oaks.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Quercus delgadoana is a rare Mexican cloud-forest oak requiring protection of remaining habitat.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Quercus depressipes is a narrowly distributed Mexican oak whose small geographic range increases extinction risk.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Quercus galeanensis is a localized Mexican oak known from a limited number of populations.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Kew | n.d.
Ginkgo biloba is cultivated worldwide but its natural populations are considered Endangered.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Kew | n.d.
Giant sequoia is Endangered in its native Sierra Nevada range because of altered fire regimes, drought, and increasingly destructive wildfires.
Endangered and Rare Conifers
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Araucaria angustifolia is classified as Critically Endangered after enormous historical losses of Brazil's Araucaria forests.
| Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh | Threatened Conifers of the World | n.d.
Logging reduced Brazilian Araucaria forests to a small fraction of their former extent, leaving fragmented populations.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Araucaria araucana, the monkey puzzle tree, is Endangered and threatened by damaging fires, grazing, and land conversion.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
The Sicilian fir survives as one of Europe's rarest conifers after severe historical population decline.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
The Saharan cypress survives as an isolated population in Algeria's Tassili n'Ajjer mountains with extremely limited regeneration.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Florida torreya suffered a catastrophic decline during the twentieth century and remains one of North America's most imperiled conifers.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Florida yew has an extremely narrow natural distribution along the Apalachicola River system.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Although widely cultivated, dawn redwood remains Endangered because its natural populations occupy a very restricted region of China.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Malawi's Mulanje cedar is Critically Endangered after extensive illegal logging and repeated wildfire.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Thuja sutchuenensis was once believed extinct before surviving populations were rediscovered in China.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Vietnamese golden cypress is an exceptionally localized conifer threatened by cutting and habitat degradation.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Fokienia hodginsii has declined because its aromatic, durable wood is highly valued for construction and carving.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Taiwania is a giant Asian conifer whose surviving natural forests have been reduced by historical logging.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Calocedrus macrolepis is threatened across parts of Southeast Asia by logging and forest conversion.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Keteleeria davidiana populations are fragmented across parts of China and Southeast Asia.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Algerian fir is confined to a small mountainous area and faces threats from fire, grazing, and climate change.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Spanish fir survives in isolated mountain populations vulnerable to climate change, fire, and disease.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Guatemalan fir is an Endangered Central American conifer historically cut for timber and Christmas trees.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Fraser fir forests have suffered major mortality from the introduced balsam woolly adelgid.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Martinez spruce survives in small isolated populations in northeastern Mexico.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Chihuahua spruce occurs in scattered mountain populations threatened by fire, logging, and habitat fragmentation.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Maximowicz's spruce is an Endangered Japanese conifer with small and fragmented natural populations.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Big-cone pinyon is restricted to a small region of Mexico and is vulnerable to seed collection and habitat degradation.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Rzedowski's pine is a rare Mexican endemic occurring in highly fragmented populations.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Qiaojia pine is one of the world's rarest pine species, surviving naturally in an extremely small Chinese population.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Podocarpus nakaii is endemic to Taiwan and threatened by its restricted distribution and habitat alteration.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
East African podocarps illustrate the conservation importance of protecting remaining montane forest.
| CITES | Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species | 2019
CITES reviewed the severe decline of Widdringtonia whytei following extensive exploitation of its valuable timber.
Early forest-genetic conservation programs recognized Araucaria angustifolia as endangered and urgently collected seed across its native range.
Island and Pacific Endangered Trees
| BGCI Partner | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | 2023-12-13
Wollemi pines were distributed among botanical gardens to create geographically separated conservation populations.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | 2021-11-05
Mauritius contains numerous severely threatened trees whose very small populations may require active restoration rather than passive forest recovery.
| University of Guam | ScienceDaily | 2020-11-30
Studies of Guam's most endangered tree provide insights into how Serianthes nelsonii responds to environmental conditions.
| Pensoft Publishers | ScienceDaily | 2017-08-21
Melicope stonei was described from Kaua'i and immediately recognized as Critically Endangered because of its tiny range.
| U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | USFWS | 2012
A federal review describes habitat degradation, invasive animals, insects, typhoons, fire, and extremely low population size as threats to Serianthes nelsonii.
| Gary J. Wiles et al. | Biological Conservation | 1996
Research documents the status, biology, and recovery requirements of the exceptionally rare Micronesian tree Serianthes nelsonii.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Wollemi pine is a Critically Endangered Australian conifer known from only a tiny number of natural populations.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | n.d.
Surveys on Silhouette Island searched for Critically Endangered Trilepisium gymnandrum and Psychotria silhouettae.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
The Saint Helena redwood is part of an exceptionally threatened island flora transformed by centuries of habitat alteration.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Saint Helena ebony represents the vulnerability of island trees to habitat destruction, introduced species, and small population size.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
The bastard gumwood of Saint Helena is among the world's rarest island trees.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Elaeocarpus bojeri is an extremely rare Mauritian tree whose restricted population illustrates the conservation crisis facing island endemics.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Hyophorbe amaricaulis survives as a single known individual, making it one of the most extreme examples of a plant on the brink of extinction.
| University of Guam Herbarium | University of Guam | n.d.
Serianthes nelsonii survives naturally only on Guam and Rota and has long been considered one of the world's rarest trees.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | n.d.
Conservation assessments in Fiji found that half of a group of evaluated native trees qualified as threatened with extinction.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Serianthes nelsonii is a Critically Endangered tree endemic to the Mariana Islands.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Melicope stonei is restricted to old-growth forest on Kaua'i and has an extremely limited population.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Sophora toromiro is extinct in the wild on Rapa Nui but survives in cultivated conservation collections.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Ravenea moorei is an exceptionally rare palm endemic to the Comoros and threatened by forest degradation.
Threatened Timber and Economically Important Trees
| Stephen Johnson et al. | Plants | 2022-12-05
Researchers reassessed the distribution and threats facing Boswellia ogadensis, a rare Ethiopian frankincense tree.
| Stephen Johnson et al. | PubMed / Plants | 2022-12-05
Field surveys of Boswellia ogadensis examine grazing, fuelwood cutting, insect damage, regeneration, and the implications for its conservation status.
| BGCI | Botanic Gardens Conservation International | 2016
A review of ebony conservation describes threats from habitat loss and exploitation and identifies gaps in Red List assessments and ex situ collections.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Siamese rosewood is threatened by intensive illegal logging associated with the international luxury timber trade.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Brazilian rosewood has suffered from intensive historical timber exploitation and extensive destruction of Atlantic Forest habitat.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
West Indian mahogany illustrates the conservation problems created by centuries of selective logging for valuable hardwood.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Big-leaf mahogany remains under heavy pressure from timber harvesting across parts of tropical America.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
African teak has declined through commercial exploitation and forest loss and remains a priority for sustainable management.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
African cherry is harvested for medicinal bark, making sustainable harvesting and population protection important conservation issues.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Brazilwood, historically exploited for dye and later valued for musical-instrument bows, has become an emblematic threatened Atlantic Forest tree.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Sipo is a valuable African timber tree affected by intensive selective logging.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Tiama is a commercially important African hardwood whose populations have declined through logging and forest loss.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Sapele is heavily harvested for international timber markets and has experienced substantial population reductions.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
African mahogany populations are threatened by timber extraction and conversion of tropical forests.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Khaya ivorensis has historically been one of West Africa's most commercially valuable mahoganies.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
African teak or iroko is affected by logging pressure and the degradation of tropical forest.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Bubinga is sought internationally for decorative hardwood, creating conservation and trade concerns.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Commercial exploitation of bubinga species has resulted in international regulation of their trade.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
West African rosewood has undergone intense exploitation driven by international demand for luxury furniture.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Afzelia africana is a valuable West African timber tree affected by logging, fire, grazing, and land conversion.
Endangered Dipterocarps
| Penn State | ScienceDaily | 2025-05-09
Fossils show that Endangered Dryobalanops rappa has existed in Borneo's forests for at least two million years.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Dryobalanops rappa is an Endangered dipterocarp associated with carbon-rich peat-swamp forests of Borneo.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Anisoptera scaphula is an Endangered South and Southeast Asian dipterocarp threatened by forest loss and timber exploitation.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Dipterocarpus grandiflorus is threatened in parts of Southeast Asia by historic and ongoing logging.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Shorea balangeran is an important peat-swamp tree affected by forest conversion, drainage, and fire.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Shorea species with limited distributions are particularly vulnerable to selective logging and lowland forest loss.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Vatica cauliflora is a Critically Endangered Indonesian dipterocarp known from a small number of fragmented sites.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Vatica javanica includes severely threatened populations restricted to the Indonesian island of Java.
Endangered Magnolias
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Magnolia dealbata is a threatened Mexican cloud-forest tree with fragmented populations.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Magnolia schiedeana occurs in Mexican cloud forests increasingly fragmented by agriculture and development.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Magnolia vazquezii is a narrowly distributed Mexican tree whose limited habitat makes it vulnerable to extinction.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Magnolia perezfarrerae is restricted to small areas of southern Mexico and requires habitat protection.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Magnolia wolfii is a highly threatened Colombian tree associated with Andean forest.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Magnolia yarumalensis has declined as Andean forests in Colombia have been cleared and fragmented.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Magnolia silvioi is a Colombian endemic threatened by habitat loss in highly transformed forests.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Magnolia sambensis represents the exceptionally high conservation importance of tropical montane magnolias.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Rare magnolia species with narrow distributions may be highly susceptible to habitat conversion and population fragmentation.
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Plants of the World Online | n.d.
Magnolia katiorum is among the localized tropical magnolias requiring targeted population assessment and conservation.
