The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. It uses a set of precise criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of thousands of species and subspecies. These criteria are relevant to all species and all regions of the world. With its strong scientific base, the IUCN Red List is recognized as the most authoritative guide to the status of biological diversity. A series of Regional Red Lists are produced by countries or organizations, which assess the risk of extinction to species within a political management unit.
The conservation status of a group of organisms indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservation status: not simply the number of individuals remaining, but the overall increase or decrease in the population over time, breeding success rates, and known threats. Various systems of conservation status exist and are in use at international, multi-country, national and local levels as well as for consumer use.
Cyphostemma juttae is a slow-growing succulent species of Cyphostemma from southern Africa, well known as an ornamental plant.
A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. They do not qualify as threatened, near threatened, or conservation dependent.
An IUCN Red List Critically Endangered (CR) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of 2021, of the 120,372 species currently tracked by the IUCN, there are 8,404 species that are considered to be Critically Endangered.
Notiosorex cockrumi, also called Cockrum's gray shrew or Cockrum's desert shrew, is a tiny species of shrews named in 2003. This red-toothed shrew, which is as light as a penny, is the first new mammal species from Arizona since 1977. Its range extends from Arizona to central Sonora, Mexico.
A species that is extinct in the wild (EW) is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as known only by living members kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range due to massive habitat loss.
Anisopappus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae.
Hypericum fieriense is a species of flowering plant in the St. John's wort family Hypericaceae. It is endemic to Socotra, an island archipelago that is part of Yemen. It grows in mountain shrubland dominated by Cephalocroton, where it can be found with the endemic tree Dracaena cinnabari. It is rarer than other local shrubby Hypericum species. It can be distinguished from them by its pubescent herbage.
Hypericum quitense is a species of flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its occurs in several types of habitats at elevations between 2,000 and 4,050 meters in the Andes.
Adiantum fengianum is a species of maidenhair fern endemic to China. Its natural habitat is temperate forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Gonzalagunia mollis is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador. It is critically endangered and its population trend is unspecified by the IUCN Red List.
Helicia is a genus of 110 species of trees and shrubs, constituting part of the plant family Proteaceae. They grow naturally in rainforests throughout tropical South and Southeast Asia, including India, Sri Lanka, Indochina, Peninsular Malaysia to New Guinea and as far south as New South Wales.
Ocotea porosa is a species of plant in the Lauraceae, often placed in the related genus Phoebe. It is commonly called imbuia or Brazilian walnut because its wood resembles that of some walnuts. The tree is a major commercial timber species in Brazil, used for high-end furniture, mostly as decorative veneers, and as flooring. The wood is very hard, measuring 3,684 lbf on the Janka scale. The wood is also fragrant with hints of nutmeg and cinnamon. The tree is also a popular horticultural tree in subtropical regions of the world. In its native habitat it is a threatened species.
Passiflora ampullacea is a species of plant in the family Passifloraceae. The vine is endemic to Ecuador. It is an IUCN Red List threatened species.
Aleuritopteris albofusca is a species of fern in the family Pteridaceae. It is endemic to China, including Tibet. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Aleuritopteris grevilleoides is a species of fern in the family Pteridaceae. It is endemic to China. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Grevillea molyneuxii, commonly known as the Wingello grevillea, is a shrub which is endemic to the shrublands of New South Wales in Australia.
Protea humiflora, the patentleaf sugarbush, is a flower-bearing shrub belonging to the Protea genus. The plant is endemic to South Africa and occurs from the Du Toitskloof Mountains to the Langeberg and Waboomsberg. The plant grows to 2 m in diameter and flowers from July to September with its peak in August.
Serruria balanocephala, the acorn spiderhead, is a flower-bearing shrub that belongs to the genus Serruria and forms part of the fynbos. The plant is native to the Western Cape and occurs on the Langeberg between Montagu and Swellendam. The shrub grows upright and grows 1.0 m long and flowers from late August to December.
