In December, the Canadian Wildlife Federation announced the rediscovery of a plant that had not been observed in the Ontario area in over four decades.
According to the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, the Illinois Tick-Trefoil, a tall-growing perennial in the bean family, was officially designated as "extirpated" in 1991. It had not been seen or documented in Canada since 1978, per Now Toronto.
The loss of the plant species' habitat across Canada — mostly prairies, savannahs, and open forests — due to agriculture, human activity, and land development contributed to the decimation of this plant species, leading to its sparse presence across the Canadian landscapes.
However, sightings in Canada began to pop up on the species identification app iNaturalist as far back as 2018. These reports caught the attention of expert botanists, who were excited at the potential return of a long-lost plant species.
After more than 30 confirmed sightings of the Illinois Tick-Trefoil in Canada by iNaturalist app users, COSEWIC reassessed and subsequently updated the plant species' conservation status from extirpated to endangered.
However, the rediscovered Illinois Tick-Trefoil is not yet in the clear, requiring dedicated conservation efforts to restore this rare and threatened plant species.
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"There's potential for restoration, that if we actually want to restore native prairie land, this is a good indicator that there is still the potential for a prairie habitat to be restored in these areas," said James Page, biodiversity specialist at Canadian Wildlife Federation, per Now Toronto.
Similar signs of hope have been seen elsewhere. Botanists in India rediscovered a flower species that had been lost for almost 100 years. South African conservationists also stumbled across a rare plant that had not been seen in 40 years.
The return of endangered plant species globally is a testament to the importance of dedicated conservation efforts. Such work creates healthier environments for wildlife to recover and thrive, ensuring that future generations may continue to enjoy the natural world in its rightful state.
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