Data Deficient Plants
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- A Species is Data Deficient when there is inadequate information to make a direct, or indirect,
assessment of its risk of extinction based on its distribution and/or population status. A taxon in
this category may be well studied, and its biology well known, but appropriate data on abundance
and/or distribution is lacking. Data Deficient is therefore not a category of threat or Lower Risk.
Listing of taxa in this category indicates that more information is required and acknowledges the
possibility that future research will show that threatened classification is appropriate. It is
important to make positive use of whatever data are available. In many cases great care should be
exercised in choosing between Data Deficient and threatened status. If the range of a taxon is suspected to be
relatively circumscribed, if a considerable period of time has elapsed since the last record of the
taxon, threatened status may well be justified.
Index by Species
Last Revised: June 11, 2008