Not cute and furry, still in danger

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Endangered animals capture the public imagination to such an extent that their mute botanical counterparts, endangered plants, are often forgotten. But the figures for imperiled flora are dire: As many as 30,000 to 60,000 varieties of plant life are in imminent danger of extinction. Author and illustrator Dugald Stermer documents a selection of these plants in his new book Vanishing Flora (Harry N. Abrams, Inc.).

The Texas poppy-mallow, with its large petals and wine-red color, blooms for only a week on a narrow strip of land along the Colorado River. The amoreuxia wrightii, which shortsighted collectors pick along the Rio Grande in Mexico and southern Texas. Vanishing Flora details what can be done to preserve threatened plants–and why it must be done: Plant diversity is essential to a balanced ecosystem and, ultimately, to the survival of all living things.

Note to MoJo historians: Stermer did the cover illustration for the very first issue of the magazine in February 1976.

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We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

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