AI
Jun 17, 20261
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Kew report says plant flowering times have shifted significantly over the past century
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew says AI-assisted analysis of millions of digitised herbarium specimens shows plant flowering times have changed significantly over the past century. The report links expanding specimen digitisation and artificial intelligence to faster biodiversity research, while warning that many plant and fungi species remain at risk or unstudied.
Quick Facts
Who
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
What
Published a report on the state of the world's plants and fungi
When
over the last century
Where
worldwide
- Published a report on the state of the world's plants and fungi
- Used AI-assisted analysis of digitised herbarium specimens to study flowering times
- Completed digitisation of millions of herbarium and fungarium specimens
- Highlighted extinction risk and knowledge gaps for plant and fungi species
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
A new report from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew says plant flowering times have shifted significantly over the last century, based on an AI-assisted analysis of about 8 million digitised herbarium specimens. The report is part of Kew’s latest State of the World’s Plants and Fungi assessment and highlights how digitisation and artificial intelligence are changing the study of biodiversity.
According to the report, flowering dates have both advanced and been delayed, with a median shift of 2.5 days per decade in either direction. The greatest variation was seen in the tropics. Kew said the findings show how long-term specimen records can help scientists track ecological change over time.
The report also said Kew has recently completed digitising 7.4 million herbarium and fungarium specimens in its own collection. It argued that the wider digitisation of collections around the world, together with AI tools, could transform understanding of biodiversity loss and climate change.
The Guardian’s coverage of the report said the approach could help researchers document important plant species before they disappear. It noted that about 40% of the world’s assessed 70,000 plant species are at risk of extinction, while 330,000 more have yet to be analysed. The report also said fungi remain poorly studied, with most species still unknown to science.
Why This Matters
This matters because long-term specimen records, now searchable with AI, can give scientists earlier warning signs of climate-driven ecological change and help prioritize which species need urgent protection. For readers, it signals that biodiversity monitoring is becoming faster and more scalable, which can influence conservation policy, research funding, and how quickly at-risk species are documented before they disappear.
Timeline & Sources
Jun 17, 2026
WireCarbon Brief published its Cropped newsletter summarising the Kew report and other environmental developments.