The World's Plants are Going Extinct about 500 Times Faster than they should, Study Finds. Seed plants — including most trees, flowers and fruit-bearing plants — are going extinct about 500 times faster than they should be, a new study shows. If you're the sort of person who just can't keep a plant alive, you're not alone — according to a new study published June 10 in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution , the entire planet seems to be suffering from a similar affliction. After analyzing the populations of more than 330,000 seed-bearing plants around the world, the study authors found that about three plant species have gone extinct on Earth every year since 1900 — a rate that's roughly 500 times higher than the natural extinction rate for those types of plants, which include most trees, flowers and fruit-bearing plants. Unsurprisingly, human activity plays a key role in this elevated extinction trend. [ Wipe Out: History's Most Mysterious ...