Nearly a third of world's cacti face extinction, says IUCN

Illegal trade is causing shocking decline in plants that are vital to desert ecosystems, most comprehensive global assessment yet reveals

Nearly a third of the world's cacti are facing the threat of extinction, according to a shocking global assessment of the effects that illegal trade and other human activities are having on the species.

Cacti are a critical provider of food and water to desert wildlife ranging from coyotes and deer to lizards, tortoises, bats and hummingbirds, and these fauna spread the plants' seeds in return.