…and other interesting new research that crossed our paths in the past few weeks, including a look at ecotourism land grabs.

As funding drops and institutions change, the study of plants appears to be withering on the vine. That’s letting critical skills go extinct.

Names matter. When we fear something, it becomes psychologically easier to withhold empathy for it or, worse, kill it. Nobody feels sorry for the devil.

Science says many types of animals can serve as “umbrella species.” But donors and the public pay the most attention to tigers, orangutans and other charismatic megafauna.

A single Franciscan manzanita plant nicknamed Francie, the last of its kind from the wild, charts an unlikely comeback in San Francisco.

One species she discovered, a critically endangered plant, eluded modern researchers for decades but has recently been rediscovered — as has Barber herself.

There’s never been more momentum for ocean conservation, but new research finds that many efforts fail to protect endangered species — or have barely gotten off the drawing board.

The Inyambo’s importance to Rwandan culture can’t protect them from threats like diseases, international conflict, and inbreeding.

This month’s best and worst environmental stories also include a rebounding lynx, a climate lawsuit boom, and a spa for frogs.

Animals, plants, and fungi depend on this humble tree, but its future — and theirs — is all but certain.