That a plant is naturally rare may seem to suggest its insignificance in an ecosystem. But naturally rare species, as much as common species, signify exuberance in nature. Each is a unique expression of the potential that drives evolution. Some rare plants may be en route to natural extinction, but it does not follow that most rare plants have less biological competence than common species. A rare flower is a botanical achievement, a bit of brilliance, a problem resolved, a threshold crossed.
Rare species ornament the display of life.
Together, the myriad species make Earth a garden. Either way they offer promise and memory of an inventive natural history. Even more poignantly than the common, they provide both a liberal and a conservative sign, evidence of life persisting in struggling beauty, flourishing, pushing on at the edge of perishing. Rare species have proved their right to life through being tested by natural selection. That leaves plants, species and process all in place.