REVIEW

How many plant species are estimate to exist

How many plant species are estimate to exist

Application of knowledge

Why do we want to know?

We have been naming, describing, and studying plant species for about 500 years, and the whole framework of taxonomy and categorization was developed to list plants. This quest of why do we want to know the estimation of plant species is growing increasingly imperative. We know that we are losing plant species greatly because of human activities and actions, but we cannot really understand and realize the amount of species lost until we know what and how many species are there.

What is a species?

Species is a fundamental concept of biology which designates the basic unit of taxonomic system used in scientific classification of living things. Although there are multiple definitions, neither consensual, the concept is structured around the creation of groups of individuals (specimens) with deep structural and functional similarities with each other, resulting from the sharing of a karyotype identical in structure expressed chromosomal cells diploid. Similarly, it gives them uniform marked biochemical and reproducibility among themselves, yielding fertile progeny with the same general character frame. It is a process in which a body sexed must permit fertile progeny of both genders. Although there have been multiple proposals and more precise definitions, the difficulty of finding a universal definition for the concept led to the emergence of so-called species problem and the adoption of flexible formulations used pragmatically to the specific biological group to which the concept is applied.

Species Diversity

Species diversity refers to the variety of species in a region. It expresses the richness or the number of different species that are present in a given ecosystem, region or country. This diversity can be measured in a number of ways, and still it is not agreed by the scientists on what is the best technique. The number of plant species in an area, their "wealth" in species is an assess that is often utilized, but a more precise calculation, the "taxonomic diversity" takes into account the close association between some of the species with others.

The plants have traditionally been alienated into a number of groups: mosses (bryophytes), seed plants, ferns (pteridophytes), and algae, pines, cycads (the three groups are considered as gymnosperms). Flowering plants (angiosperms) include two main groups: palms (monocots) and grasses and margaritas and magnolias. Plant diversity is one of the largest in the world, as it has been estimated that there are around 17.000 to 28.000 species of plants. Of all the species it is estimated that between10.000 to 12.000 are widespread, which are mostly determined in the dry and semi-dry areas.

Existing Estimates

Estimate can range widely from 250,000 to nearly 350,000 or may be higher. There are around one million names of plants, but a number of them are synonyms, and several are not species but varieties or sub-species.

Even today the number of plant species is not clear who are currently in existence. Still new species are being identified and it is further complicated to ...