Name: Scientists named 190 new plants and fungi species in 2025
Uploaded: 2026-01-13T13:23:30.202Z
Duration: 1 min 15 s
Description: Scientists warn that human activities are “eroding nature to the point of extinction” after releasing a list of new species named in 2025.

Scientists warn that human activities are “eroding nature to the point of extinction” after releasing a list of new species named in 2025.

London

Scientists named almost 200 new plant and fungi species in 2025, according to the Royal Botanic Gardens in London. Conservationists have raised concerns that many of these newly described species are already threatened with extinction.

Among the notable discoveries are a fungus in Brazil that infects and controls trapdoor spiders, and the blood-stained orchid from Ecuador, which uses mimicry to attract pollinators. Other highlighted species include the fire demon flower, a critically endangered snowdrop, and caterpillar orchids.

Scientists named 190 new plants and fungi species in 2025

Almost 200 new plants and fungi were named new to science last year. Conservationists warn that many are already threatened with extinction. The Royal Botanic Gardens in London has revealed its top 10 species that were described in 2025. A killer fungus found in the Atlantic rainforest of Brazil has become quite popular because of the series The Last of Us, in which a fungus turns humans into zombies, this researcher says. It's just that in nature, in real life, this fungus has the capacity of infecting insects and basically controlling their nervous system and then effectively making them zombies, right? So this new species we found, as it happens, it parasitizes the spiders, what we call trapdoor spiders. This new species found in Ecuador, known as blood-stained orchid, is remarkable for its way of achieving pollination and reproduction. This flower imitates a female fly, so it makes the male fly think that it's a female and then the fly comes and copulates with it. Other species that made it to the top 10 include the fire demon flower, a critically endangered snowdrop and the caterpillar orchids.

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