We've all heard about the most endangered animals. Creatures like the critically endangered black rhinoceros are famous, and in some cases have been reduced to just a handful of individuals. But what are the most endangered plants? They might not be as exciting or loveable as animals, but they are just as important to the ecosystem – and humanity relies on that ecosystem. Here are nine of the most threatened plants today. They are almost all classed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). These plants occupy some of the most inaccessible, remote parts of our planet. They are threatened by habitat destruction, illegal collection, poaching, and competition with invading species. Attenborough's pitcher plant (Nepenthes attenboroughii) Attenborough's pitcher plant is known only from the relatively inaccessible summit of Mount Victoria in Palawan in the Philippines. There are thought to be only a few hundred of them. Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants that trap animals in liquid-filled bowls called pitchers. Attenborough's pitcher plant is one of the biggest, with pitchers up to 30cm in height that can trap insects and rats. It was only discovered in 2007 when a team of botanists, tipped off by two Christian missionaries, scaled Mount Victoria. It is named after British natural history broadcaster David Attenborough.

Critically Endangered Northern Hairy Nosed Wombat. Scientists believe the number left in the world is about 200 – a slight increase from the mid 1980s when there were only 35 – but the northern hairy nosed wombats remain critically endangered, largely because of competition with cattle and sheep for food, as well as drought and dingo and feral dog attacks. Today, approximately 185 northern hairy nosed wombats reside at Epping Forest in Queensland, Australia, and another 15 live in the 105-hectare Richard Underwood Nature Refuge nearby, making these the only northern hairy nosed colonies in the world. Northern hairy nosed wombats can only be found in the wild; their shy natures making the nocturnal marsupials ill-prepared to cope with the stress of captivity. There are two other species of wombat, the common (or bare-nosed) wombat, which is not endangered and is found on the southeastern coast of Australia (in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania) and the southern hairy nosed wombat, which is endangered and is found in arid, sandy pockets in the southern part of Australia (in South Australia and Western Australia). The Northern hairy nosed wombat is the largest of all the three species, weighing up to 40kg and measuring about 1m long (the females are slightly heavier than the males). Wombats are often referred to as the engineers of the mammal world. Their burrows can be up to 90m long and are essential for helping the animals regulate their temperature and hide from predators. Wombats generally live alone in their burrows, but sometimes there are more than one.