By Gina Gomez
Dec 28, (THAINDIAN NEWS) In a major development, botanists in United Kingdom have discovered an astounding number of 300 new plants and fungi. One of the most significant revelations of the new finding is a rainforest plant, Berlinia korupensis which is considered to be an endangered species.

The latest findings have resulted from the project undertaken by botanists of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, who carried out the research in a number of countries all across the world. The Berlinia korupensis which belongs to the pea family, was found in Cameroon, Africa at the Korup National Park. However, researchers have warned about the endangered state of the rainforest plant due to the immense pressure on the park by humans. Moreover, the plant with its trunk width of around one meter, is one of the largest plants to have emerged in the findings. One of the interesting characteristics of the plant is that on being ripened, the pods of the plant undergo a huge explosion, which results in the seeds being displaced at large distances from the plant. This feature is considered to be significant as it highly increases the possibility of survival of the seeds.

Director of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, Stephen Hopper has added that the recent findings point to the fact that a large part of the plant world is yet to be discovered.

Meanwhile, the other species that have come to light in the research include, orchids, wild coffee beans, small fungi, palms as well as other rainforest trees. However, it has also been emphasized that one third of the total species that have been discovered are already on the verge of extinction.