Botanists just revealed one of the most comprehensive reports ever about the global state of Earth's flora, aptly called "State of the World's Plants".  Scientists from the Kew Gardens Royal Botanic Gardens in West London revealed some alarming predictions, as the Gardens also boast the world's biggest collections of plants in its massive greenhouses and sprawling grounds.

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Biology experts believe that many parts of the world are now suffering from these extreme changes, such as the destruction and clearing out of tropical forests to give way to farms and city infrastructures and residential areas, which also coincides with human caused climate change, such as the rapid burning and consumption of fossil fuel.

According to Director of Science Kathy Willis, there is a confirmed massive change occurring, that is driven by agriculture and urbanization. This first annual audit report only includes the plant kingdom, where algae and mosses were not reviewed.

This report which is 80 pages long also serves as a database that can be used as a global reference point, where it is expected to be published and released every year, to monitor and compare the world's plants including conservation efforts.

According to co-author of the report, Steve Bachman from the Royal Botanic Gardens, this has been a truly massive undertaking as we have engaged with more than 80 scientists to produce this report. The report yielded a total of known 391,000 types of plants from orchids to the biggest trees on the planet, giant sequoias.

However, apart from recording this myriad plant collection, the report also warns that 21 percent of the plant species included in the report are threatened by extinction. Due to many environmental and human threats not only climate change, the scientific community agrees that the state of Earth's ecology and biodiversity is becoming fragile.

On a more positive note, the report reveals that there are about 2,000 new species discovered per year, including a bizarre carnivorous plant measuring 1.5 feet tall in the mountain ranges of Brazil. Scientists also say that there are a total of 17,810 plant species that can be used as medicine, 5,538 species for food and 3,649 types for feeding animals. Of course, unknown plants could bear unknown benefits such as a possible miracle cure for fatal diseases such as cancer, however conservation efforts should become stronger for them to be included in the catalogue.

Bachman also adds that in order to achieve food security, plant diversity is crucial. Monoculture has becoming widespread which means, it can be susceptible to new, exotic plant diseases that have the potential to wipe out entire crop species.

Tagskew gardens, royal botanic gardens, state of the world's plants report, plant conservation, Biology, endangered species plants