“The rough popcornflower, a wetland plant found only in the Umpqua River Basin of Oregon, is no longer considered endangered after its population increased to more than 2 million plants,” reports The Doomslayer.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that rough popcornflower has been reclassified from an endangered to a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. The Service also finalized a species-specific 4(d) rule that provides for the conservation needs of the species. This reclassification of rough popcornflower aligns with efforts…to reduce regulatory burdens while continuing to advance conservation…
Rough popcornflower is an herbaceous plant found only in seasonal wetlands in the Umpqua River Basin of Douglas County, Oregon. Since its listing, the species has increased from about 7,000 plants in eight populations to more than 2 million plants across 18 populations. This remarkable increase is due in part to discovery of previously unmonitored populations, as well as extensive recovery efforts including reintroductions, population augmentations, and targeted treatment of invasive plant species. As a result, threats have been reduced or eliminated to the point that the species no longer meets the definition of an endangered species.
A robot saves Dutch tulip fields by quickly detecting diseased flowers.
Researchers have also developed robots to pick cotton. That may eliminate the need for cotton farmers to buy mechanical harvesters that cost $1 million and weigh 30 tons, compressing soil and thus sometimes harming soil health.
“Numbers of one of Scotland’s rarest plants have more than trebled on a hill in central Scotland,” reported the BBC.
Sticky catchfly is a nationally rare species with fewer than 18 populations scattered across Britain. Around 10,000 flowering stems of the plant were counted by volunteers [in 2024] during a three-day survey on Dumyat in the Ochil Hills – an increase from 3,000 in 2013.
