Examples of Extinct Plants: The Complete List — no entries meet the exact criteria
No plants qualify for this list under the strict, modern criteria set for “Examples of Extinct Plants.” The search returns an empty result when you demand fully verified, post‑1500 extinctions with clear IUCN-style documentation and no taxonomic doubt.
Understand why the criteria produce no entries. Plant records are patchy, names change, and many claimed extinctions lack robust proof. Some species are listed as “Extinct in the Wild” (survive only in cultivation) or have not been reassessed by IUCN. Others were once thought lost and were later rediscovered. These issues make a clean, fully verified list of modern extinct plants rare or empty.
Know the technical and historical reasons behind the gap. Fossil plants (for example, Lepidodendron or Glossopteris) are truly extinct but fall outside “modern” lists. Well‑documented modern cases often end up in near‑match categories: Franklinia alatamaha survives in gardens but is extinct in the wild; the Wollemi pine is a famous rediscovery of a plant once known only from fossils. Taxonomy, poor historical collection, and rediscoveries all block a simple, definitive list of modern extinct plants.
Explore close alternatives instead. Compile IUCN “Extinct” and “Extinct in the Wild” entries, make a separate fossil‑plant list, or focus on island and habitat‑specific losses (for example, many island endemics and Hawaiian lobelioids). For a useful next step, review the IUCN Red List, curated botanic garden records, or a vetted list of “extinct in the wild” and fossil plant examples.
