A spider-infecting “zombie fungus” and a flame-coloured shrub named after a Studio Ghibli fire demon are among the new plant and fungi species named by scientists in 2025, according to researchers at the Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG), Kew.
Kew scientists and their international partners described 125 new plant species last year, selecting 10 of the most unusual for a list highlighting recent discoveries. The list includes a fungus that kills trapdoor spiders, an orchid that mimics female flies to attract pollinators, and a rare snowdrop long overlooked in UK gardens.
Researchers estimate that as many as 100,000 plant species and up to three million fungi species worldwide remain undiscovered. On average, about 2,500 new plant species are formally named each year.
Scientists warn, however, that the race to identify new species is being overtaken by habitat destruction. Up to three-quarters of undiscovered plants are already thought to be at risk of extinction due to deforestation, mining, agriculture, pollution, and climate change.
“Human activity is eroding nature faster than we can document it,” said Dr Martin Cheek of RBG Kew, stressing that species cannot be protected if they are not scientifically identified.
One of the most striking discoveries is a spider-eating fungus from Brazil’s Atlantic rainforest. The fungus infects trapdoor spiders, consumes the host, and then grows through the spider’s burrow to release spores. Scientists decoded its genome in the field using portable sequencing technology.
Another new species is a three-metre-tall shrub from Peru with bright orange-red flowers, named Aphelandra calciferi after Calcifer, the fire demon from Howl’s Moving Castle. Researchers believe it has strong potential as an ornamental plant.
Among the threatened discoveries is a blood-stained orchid from Ecuador’s Andean forests. Its flowers imitate female flies to attract male pollinators, but more than half of its habitat has already been destroyed by logging and mining.
Some species were discovered not in remote jungles but through re-examination. A snowdrop commonly grown in Britain was found to be a distinct species native to the Balkans, where it is now critically endangered due to over-collection and habitat pressure.
New species also include an 18-metre-tall fruit tree from Papua New Guinea producing banana- and guava-flavoured fruit, and a newly identified palm from the Philippines prized by plant collectors but long known to local communities.
Scientists say the loss of species means not only ecological damage, but the disappearance of potential food sources and medicines. Conservation efforts will focus on protecting habitats and storing seeds in national banks and Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank.
“If we fail to act now,” researchers warn, “we risk losing species before we even know they exist.”