Editing Flowering plant (section)

== Human uses ==

{{main|Human uses of plants}}

=== Practical uses ===

[[File:Rice Harvest 2020 - 50248478521.jpg|thumb|Harvesting [[rice]] in Arkansas, 2020]]

[[File:Daal_after_Tadka_Pulse_Soup_India.jpg|thumb|Food from plants: a dish of ''[[Dal tadka]]'', Indian lentil soup]]

[[Agriculture]] is almost entirely dependent on angiosperms, which provide virtually all plant-based food and [[fodder]] for [[livestock]]. Much of this food derives from a small number of flowering plant families.<ref name="Dilcher-2016">{{cite web |last1=Dilcher |first1=David L. |last2=Cronquist |first2=Arthur |last3=Zimmermann |first3=Martin Huldrych |last4=Stevens |first4=Peter |last5=Stevenson |first5=Dennis William |last6=Berry |first6=Paul E. |author-link2=Arthur Cronquist |author-link4=Peter F. Stevens |title=Angiosperm: Significance to Humans |url=https://www.britannica.com/plant/angiosperm/Significance-to-humans |website=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |date=8 March 2016}}</ref> For instance, half of the world's [[calorie]] intake is supplied by just three plants – [[wheat]], [[rice]] and [[maize]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=McKie |first=Robin |date=16 July 2017 |title=Maize, rice, wheat: alarm at rising climate risk to vital crops |newspaper=The Observer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/15/climate-change-food-famine-study |access-date=30 July 2023 }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Major food-providing families<ref name="Dilcher-2016"/>
|-
! Family !! English !! Example foods from that family
|-
| [[Poaceae]] || Grasses, cereals || Most feedstocks, inc. [[rice]], [[maize]], [[wheat]], [[barley]], [[rye]], [[oat]]s, [[pearl millet]], [[sugar cane]], [[sorghum]]
|-
| [[Fabaceae]] || Legumes, pea family || [[Pea]]s, [[bean]]s, [[lentils]]; for animal feed, [[clover]], [[alfalfa]]
|-
| [[Solanaceae]] || Nightshade family || [[Potato]]es, [[tomato]]es, [[capsicum|peppers]], [[aubergine]]s
|-
| [[Cucurbitaceae]] || Gourd family || [[Cucurbita|Squashes]], [[cucumber]]s, [[pumpkin]]s, [[melon]]s
|-
| [[Brassicaceae]] || Cabbage family || [[Cabbage]] and its varieties, e.g. [[Brussels sprout]], [[broccoli]]; [[mustard plant|mustard]]; [[rapeseed|oilseed rape]]
|-
| [[Apiaceae]] || Parsley family || [[Parsnip]], [[carrot]], [[parsley]], [[coriander]], [[fennel]], [[cumin]], [[caraway]]
|-
| [[Rutaceae]] || Rue family<ref>{{cite web |title=Rutaceae |url=https://www.botanical-dermatology-database.info/BotDermFolder/RUTA.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719224511/https://www.botanical-dermatology-database.info/BotDermFolder/RUTA.html |archive-date=19 July 2019 |website=Botanical Dermatology Database}}</ref> || [[Orange (fruit)|Oranges]], [[lemon]]s, [[grapefruit]]s
|-
| [[Rosaceae]] || Rose family<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Shu-Dong |last2=Jin |first2=Jian-Jun |last3=Chen |first3=Si-Yun |last4=Chase |first4=Mark W. |last5=Soltis |first5=Douglas E. |last6=Li |first6=Hong-Tao |last7=Yang |first7=Jun-Bo |last8=Li |first8=De-Zhu |last9=Yi |first9=Ting-Shuang |display-authors=3 |date=2017 |title=Diversification of Rosaceae since the Late Cretaceous based on plastid phylogenomics |journal=New Phytologist |volume=214 |issue=3 |pages=1355–1367 |doi=10.1111/nph.14461 |pmid=28186635 |issn=1469-8137|doi-access=free |bibcode=2017NewPh.214.1355Z }}</ref> || [[Apple]]s, [[pear]]s, [[cherry|cherries]], [[apricot]]s, [[plum]]s, [[peach]]es
|}

Flowering plants provide a diverse range of materials in the form of [[wood]], [[paper]], fibers such as [[cotton]], [[flax]], and [[hemp]], [[medicinal plants|medicines]] such as [[digoxin]] and [[opioid]]s, and decorative and landscaping plants. [[Coffee]] and [[hot chocolate]] are beverages from flowering plants (in the [[Rubiaceae]] and [[Malvaceae]] respectively).<ref name="Dilcher-2016"/>

=== Cultural uses ===

[[File:Kingfisher-iris.jpg|thumb|upright| [[Bird-and-flower painting]]: ''Kingfisher and iris'' ''kachō-e'' woodblock print by Ohara Koson (late 19th century)]]

Both real and [[Fictional plants|fictitious plants]] play a wide variety of [[List of fictional plants|roles in literature and film]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Literary Plants |journal=Nature Plants |date=2015 |volume=1 |issue=11 |page=15181 |doi=10.1038/nplants.2015.181 |pmid=27251545 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2015NatPl...115181. }}</ref> Flowers are the subjects of many poems by poets such as [[William Blake]], [[Robert Frost]], and [[Rabindranath Tagore]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Flower Poems |url=http://www.poemhunter.com/poems/flower/ |website=Poem Hunter |access-date=21 June 2016}}</ref> [[Bird-and-flower painting]] ({{Transliteration|zh|Huaniaohua}}) is a kind of [[Chinese painting]] that celebrates the beauty of flowering plants.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nature's Song: Chinese Bird and Flower Paintings |url=https://museum.wales/cardiff/whatson/9245/Natures-Song-Traditional-Chinese-Bird-and-Flower-Paintings-/ |access-date=2022-08-04 |website=Museum Wales |language=en |archive-date=4 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220804231344/https://museum.wales/cardiff/whatson/9245/Natures-Song-Traditional-Chinese-Bird-and-Flower-Paintings-/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Flowers have been [[language of flowers|used in literature to convey meaning]] by authors including [[William Shakespeare]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Language of Flowers |url=http://www.folger.edu/template.cfm?cid=3192 |publisher=Folger Shakespeare Library |access-date=2013-05-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140919185926/http://www.folger.edu/template.cfm?cid=3192 |archive-date=2014-09-19 |url-status=dead}}</ref> 
Flowers are used in a variety of art forms which arrange cut or living plants, such as [[bonsai]], [[ikebana]], and flower arranging. [[Ornamental plant]]s have sometimes changed the course of history, as in [[tulip mania|tulipomania]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Lambert |first=Tim |title=A Brief History of Gardening |url=http://www.localhistories.org/gardening.html |publisher=[[British Broadcasting Corporation]] |access-date=21 June 2016 |date=2014}}</ref> Many countries and regions have [[floral emblem]]s; a survey of 70 of these found that the most popular flowering plant family<!--Figure 9 in the source--> for such emblems is Orchidaceae at 15.7% (11 emblems), followed by Fabaceae at 10% (7 emblems), and Asparagaceae, Asteraceae, and Rosaceae all at 5.7% (4 emblems each).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lim |first1=Reuben |last2=Tan |first2=Heok |last3=Tan |first3=Hugh |year=2013 |title=Official Biological Emblems of the World <!--online--> |publisher=[[Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research]] |location=Singapore |isbn=978-9-8107-4147-1 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283008038}}</ref>

=== Conservation ===

{{further|Conservation biology|Effects of climate change on plant biodiversity}}

[[File:Viola_calcarata20052002fleur2.JPG|thumb|left|upright=0.9|''[[Viola calcarata]]'', a species highly vulnerable to climate change.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Block |first1=Sebastián |last2=Maechler |first2=Marc-Jacques |last3=Levine |first3=Jacob I. |last4=Alexander |first4=Jake M. |last5=Pellissier |first5=Loïc |last6=Levine |first6=Jonathan M. |date=26 August 2022 |title=Ecological lags govern the pace and outcome of plant community responses to 21st-century climate change |journal=Ecology Letters |volume=25 |issue=10 |pages=2156–2166 |doi=10.1111/ele.14087 |pmid=36028464 |pmc=9804264 |bibcode=2022EcolL..25.2156B }}</ref>]]

[[Human impact on the environment]] has driven a range of species extinct and [[Holocene extinction|is threatening even more today]]. Multiple organizations such as [[IUCN]] and [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]] suggest that around 40% of plant species are threatened with extinction.<ref name="Lughadha-2020">{{Cite journal |last1=Lughadha |first1=Eimear Nic|last2=Bachman |first2=Steven P. |last3=Leão |first3=Tarciso C. C. |last4=Forest |first4=Félix |last5=Halley |first5=John M. |last6=Moat |first6=Justin |last7=Acedo|first7=Carmen |last8=Bacon |first8=Karen L. |last9=Brewer |first9=Ryan F. A. |last10=Gâteblé |first10=Gildas |last11=Gonçalves |first11=Susana C.|last12=Govaerts |first12=Rafaël |last13=Hollingsworth |first13=Peter M. |last14=Krisai-Greilhuber |first14=Irmgard |last15=de Lirio |first15=Elton J. |last16=Moore |first16=Paloma G. P. |last17=Negrão |first17=Raquel |last18=Onana |first18=Jean Michel |last19=Rajaovelona |first19=Landy R. |last20=Razanajatovo |first20=Henintsoa |last21=Reich |first21=Peter B. |last22=Richards |first22=Sophie L. |last23=Rivers |first23=Malin C. |last24=Cooper |first24=Amanda |last25=Iganci |first25=João |last26=Lewis |first26=Gwilym P. |last27=Smidt |first27=Eric C. |last28=Antonelli |first28=Alexandre |last29=Mueller |first29=Gregory M. |last30=Walker |first30=Barnaby E. |date=29 September 2020 |title=Extinction risk and threats to plants and fungi |journal=Plants People Planet |volume=2 |issue=5 |pages=389–408 |doi=10.1002/ppp3.10146 |s2cid=225274409 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2020PlPP....2..389N |hdl=10316/101227 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> The majority are threatened by [[Habitat destruction|habitat loss]], but activities such as logging of wild timber trees and collection of medicinal plants, or the introduction of non-native [[invasive species]], also play a role.<ref name="BGCI-2023"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wiens |first1=John J. |title=Climate-Related Local Extinctions Are Already Widespread among Plant and Animal Species |journal=PLOS Biology |date=2016 |volume=14 |issue=12 |pages=e2001104 |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.2001104 |doi-access=free |pmid=27930674 |pmc=5147797 |hdl=10150/622757 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Shivanna |first=K. R. |title=Biodiversity and Chemotaxonomy |chapter=The 'Sixth Mass Extinction Crisis' and Its Impact on Flowering Plants |series=Sustainable Development and Biodiversity |publisher=Springer International Publishing |publication-place=Cham |volume=24 |date=2019 |pages=15–42 |isbn=978-3-030-30745-5 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-30746-2_2}}</ref>


Relatively few plant diversity assessments currently consider [[climate change]],<ref name="Lughadha-2020" /> yet it is [[Effects of climate change on plant biodiversity|starting to impact plants]] as well. About 3% of flowering plants are very likely to be driven extinct within a century at {{convert|2|C-change|F-change}} of global warming, and 10% at {{convert|3.2|C-change|F-change}}.<ref>Parmesan, C., M.D. Morecroft, Y. Trisurat et al. (2022) [https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGII_Chapter02.pdf Chapter 2: Terrestrial and Freshwater Ecosystems and Their Services] in {{cite book | title=Climate Change 2022 – Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability | chapter=Terrestrial and Freshwater Ecosystems and Their Services | publisher=Cambridge University Press | date=2023 | isbn=978-1-009-32584-4 | doi=10.1017/9781009325844.004 | pages=197–378 |url=https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/}}</ref> In worst-case scenarios, half of all tree species may be driven extinct by climate change over that timeframe.<ref name="Lughadha-2020" />

Conservation in this context is the attempt to prevent extinction, whether ''[[in situ]]'' by protecting plants and their habitats in the wild, or ''[[Ex situ conservation|ex situ]]'' in [[seed bank]]s or as living plants.<ref name="BGCI-2023">{{cite web |title=Botanic Gardens and Plant Conservation |url=https://www.bgci.org/about/botanic-gardens-and-plant-conservation/ |website=Botanic Gardens Conservation International |access-date=19 July 2023}}</ref> Some 3000 [[botanic gardens]] around the world maintain living plants, including over 40% of the species known to be threatened, as an "insurance policy against extinction in the wild."<ref>{{cite web |title=Plant Conservation Around the World |url=https://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/festival-of-plants-2020/fop-day3-conservation/plant-conservation-around-the-world/ |website=Cambridge University Botanic Garden |access-date=19 July 2023 |date=2020}}</ref> The [[United Nations]]' [[Global Strategy for Plant Conservation]] asserts that "without plants, there is no life".<ref name="CBD-2023"/> It aims to "halt the continuing loss of plant diversity" throughout the world.<ref name="CBD-2023">{{cite web |title=Updated Global Strategy for Plant Conservation 2011–2020 |url=https://www.cbd.int/gspc/ |website=Convention on Biological Diversity |access-date=19 July 2023 |date=3 July 2023}}</ref>{{Clear}}