CNN —A unique plant has become the first species in the United States to be exterminated from the wild by the compounding effects of rising seas, scientists say. The Key Largo tree cactus still exists in parts of the Caribbean, including Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas, but the chances of it re-establishing naturally in the Florida Keys is basically “zero,” Gann said. The plant’s habitat was being swamped by saltwater from storms and high tides worsened by the rising sea. Sea levels around the Florida Keys have been rising by around an average 0.16 inches a year, or just over 8 inches since 1971, the researchers reported. Possley said more than 1-in-4 native plant species are critically threatened with regional extinction in South Florida.

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Persons: ”, George Gann, ” Gann, ” James Lange, Jennifer Possley, Possley, smallfruit varnishleaf, Jennifer Organizations: CNN, Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Institute for Regional Conservation, Botanic, ” Staff, Fairchild, Florida Department of Environmental Locations: United States, Florida, Caribbean, Cuba , Puerto Rico, Bahamas, Reef, South Florida