A plant thought to have disappeared for 60 years has been found in Australia.

In Australia, scientists from the University of New South Wales have discovered a plant that has been considered extinct for almost 60 years. The discovery was made thanks to a random snapshot on the iNaturalist citizen science platform. This was reported on May 18 by Science Daily magazine.

The Ptilotus senarius plant, a fragile shrub with purplish-pink flowers resembling feathery fireworks, has not been seen by scientists in the wild since 1967. He was accidentally discovered by horticulturist Aaron Bean, who helped with bird banding in a remote area of Queensland in the north of the continent. He photographed the unusual find and uploaded the images to the database as soon as he had a cellular connection.

The photos attracted the attention of Anthony Bean, a botanist from the Queensland Herbarium, who described this species 10 years ago using old specimens. He immediately recognized the plant as a rare species that was considered completely lost.

Up to this point, researchers assumed that Ptilotus senarius had joined the list of 900 plant species that had disappeared since the 1750s. The shrub's status has now been changed from "extinct" to "critically endangered." This will make it possible to direct the resources of environmental organizations to protect the discovered population in a remote area near the Gulf of Carpentaria.

The scientists emphasized the importance of citizen science for research in Australia, given the vast size of the continent and the fact that about a third of the land is privately owned. The researchers urge landowners and volunteers to actively record the flora and fauna, taking detailed pictures not only of flowers, but also of leaves, bark and stems, as well as indicating the type of soil and the presence of pollinating insects.

Yagoda Manila: seedlings and seeds of fictitious AI plants are being massively sold in the Russian Federation

The Prosecutor General's Office and the Interior Ministry are asked to hold sellers accountable

Science Daily on May 13 explained the record-breaking rate of cactus evolution. According to the publication, the shape of the flower determines the rate of speciation of plants. The researchers emphasized that the rate of evolution of a species can serve as an indicator of its vulnerability.