AI could help win ‘race against extinction’ of vital plants, say botanists

<p>Tech is helping to identify and save new specimens and could open ‘genomic goldmine’ of fungi data</p><p>The rise of AI and digitisation could be a turning point in the “race against extinction” faced by botanists trying to identify and save vital plants before they vanish, according to a major <a href="https://www.kew.org/science/state-of-the-worlds-plants-and-fungi">report</a> from Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.</p><p>New technology is enabling scientists to track how flowering times have shifted by weeks around the world, rapidly identify new specimens and even get crucial genetic data from 180-year-old fungus specimens, potentially opening a “genomic goldmine”. Digitisation and online access to millions of specimens that were until now only accessible in archives is also producing new insights, especially in the global south.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/16/ai-could-help-win-race-against-extinction-of-vital-plants-say-botanists">Continue reading...</a>