South African DaisiesThe gallery is part of a special news series on global water issues.This delicate daisy (Cadiscus aquaticus) is found in just a few ponds in South Africa's Western Cape. But encroaching farming threatens to trample the flower and its habitat. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) placed the daisy on its Red List of Threatened Species on September 1, 2010.The number of threatened flowering plants worldwide on IUCN's list has grown from 5,186 in 1998 to 8,084 this year. The nonprofit has evaluated 11,543 of these blossoming species out of an estimated 268,000.(See more aquatic species photos.)--Tasha Eichenseher
Photograph courtesy Nick Helme

Photos: Africa's Disappearing Damselflies, Fish, and Wildflowers

Dams, wetland destruction, and overfishing threaten to wipe out more than 20 percent of Africa's freshwater species, many unique to the continent.

September 4, 2010