The writer is a science commentator
Confirming whether a plant or fungus is extinct is not a cut-and-dried issue. If a fern or orchid known to grow in one place has not been observed on repeat visits, has it really disappeared forever? Might it be flowering, unobserved, at a higher altitude because of climate change? Fungal networks can thrive, unseen, under the soil.
The dilemma over when to declare a plant extinct is highlighted in a new report, published this week by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, showing how digitisation and AI are changing conservation. While the report reveals that the real scale of species loss is underestimated, it is also true that plants once thought extinct, such as the Chilean blue crocus, have cropped up again after concerted efforts to find them.