From the editors

2014·0.2 MB·English

From the Editors
Inthisissue,wepresenttwoarticlesthateachdealwitharareplant.Whenwehearaplantisrare,
we often thinkit must be endangered, but this is not necessarilythe case. Being rare and being
endangeredarenotequivalentstates. Rarityforaspeciesmaybequitenormal.So,whatdoesbeing
rare, foraplant, reallymean? Thishasbeenarguedoveralongperiodoftime. Probablythemost
widelyaccepted classification ofrarityis that ofRabinowitz, which reflects three spatial charac-
teristics:populationsize,ecologicalspecialisationandgeographic range. Someauthoritiesinclude
the frequency ofoccupancy in suitable habitats. Temporal rarity also is a consideration. Some
speciesarecommon followingfire butbecome rarewithtime, asconditions change andbecome
unsuitable - untilafterthenextfireevent.
Unfortunately, formanyrareplants,beingrareisbecausetheyareundersometypeofthreatand
facethepotential ofextinction.Yet, foralotoftheseplants,wehave noideaoftheimportanceof
theirroleintheenvironment.Nordowenoticetheirpassing. Itispleasing,therefore,thatwecan
presentthesetwoarticlesandhighlighttheneedtobemoreawareofwhatisaroundus.
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