# Scientists Studying Earth’s Flowering Plants Issue a Stark Warning to Humanity

- Link: https://www.widthness.com/scientists-studying-earths-flowering-plants-issue-a-stark-warning-to-humanity/
- Published: 2026-07-21T09:00:00-05:00
- Author: Curated by Theresa Wysocki

Botanical illustration: The Vanelloe &#8211; Epidendrum Vanilla (aka Vanilla planifolia). Image credit: Mark Catesby / National Gallery of Art. Public Domain. Article by Jess Cockerill. ScienceAlert &#8211; July 19, 2026. Research article: Science. From the beloved vanilla orchid, whose pods flavor many of our favorite desserts, to the nose-twisting corpse flower, whose gigantic flower draws crowds with every fetid bloom, even the world&#8217;s most treasured flowering plants are in grave danger. And scientists are only just coming to terms with just how much we stand to lose. In a recent paper published in Science, an international team of biologists warns that we risk losing more than a fifth of the evolutionary history of flowering plants, as a result of ever-increasing human pressures. [&#8230;] Click here to view original web page at www.sciencealert.com Curated by Theresa Wysocki See Full Bio
