No commenters seem to have read the article.
This plant’s US population is extinct in the wild with some being kept alive in sanctuaries.
The plant is native to the Caribbean and there are still wild populations in other parts of the region, as per the article.
Still sad though. Salt water intrusion from sea level rise killed the US population.
Read the article. The plant is not extinct.
Yes, they mean extinct in the wild. You can get access to this and all other Washington Post gift links with registration
The tree cactus persists elsewhere in the Caribbean, including parts of Cuba and the Bahamas. But the stand lost on Key Largo to saltwater intrusion from rising seas and soil depletion from high tides and hurricanes was the only one known in the United States. This coastal plant with the snowy fur is Florida’s latest victim of sea-level rise, fueled by the melting of glacial ice thousands of miles away
With little hope of recovery, the team dug up the last six individuals to bring into human care. Today, about 60 Key Largo tree cactuses are cultivated at two nurseries in Florida while more than 1,000 seeds are kept in storage at Fairchild and at an Agriculture Department seed bank in Colorado.
