[MPWG] IUCN Species Bulletin - May 2015: Status of Medicinal Plants of Europe

[De Angelis, Patricia]

This is the first ever look at the status of all major medicinal plants of
Europe. The status of 400 species was assessed using the science-based IUCN
Red List Criteria. Many of the species are ranked as "Least Concern;"
several "Near Threatened," "Vulnerable," or "Endangered;" others were "Data
Deficient."

*Europe’s medicinal plants in decline, 2 percent threatened with extinction*

The IUCN European Red List of Medicinal Plants provides, for the first
time, information on the status of all major medicinal plants native to
Europe. This assessment includes 400 vascular plants, including trees,
aquatic plants and epiphytes, which occupy a wide range of habitats. These
plants include common and widely-used species such as Arnica (*Arnica
montana*), St. John's Wort (*Hypericum perforatum*), Rosemary (*Rosmarinus
officinalis*) and Common Heather (*Calluna vulgaris*).


The main current threats emerging from the analysis include, in descending
order of importance: wild plant collection, livestock farming, general
ecosystem modifications, agriculture (other than livestock), silviculture,
invasive alien species, transport infrastructure, and energy production and
mining. For the selected medicinal plants, 164 (41%) were assessed as
having a stable population trend, whilst 125 (31%) were considered to be
declining in population size in Europe. More than one quarter (101, 25%)
have an unknown population trend and a small part of the group (2.5%) have
increasing populations.

Fulle Story:
http://www.iucn.org/news_homepage/all_news_by_theme/species_news/?21354/Europes-medicinal-plants-in-decline-2-percent-threatened-with-extinction--IUCN-report&dm_i=2GI3,9N1D,40EN56,LR3T,1

Download report:
http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/iucn_european_red_list_of_medicinal_plants_web.pdf
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