Abstract
In order to compile a “red data book” and to determine the threatened status of native plants of Karachi, a regular fortnightly visits
were undertaken during 2009-2010. During this study, exotic plants, ruderals, weeds and naturalized species were not taken into
consideration. For our study “Flora of Karachi” by S. M. H. Jafri (1966) was considered as base line. In that flora 403 species
belonging to 72 families were included. According to our observation 135 species were assessed in threatened plants, out of them 8
species have already become extinct from our study area which also include Tecomella undulata, a tree with gorgeous flowers. Ten
species are included as endangered plants, 25 plants belong to rare species while 28 species belong to vulnerable species. Prosopis
juliflora and Eucalyptus citriodora are invasive species. In order to draw the attention about the threatened plants 20 photographs are
presented. It is recommended that we should not destroy our native plants and should not regard them as nuisance or unwanted plants,
instead we should conserve the wilderness and wild plants to preserve the species diversity and gene pool of our area. Autecologies of
wild plants should be studied and ways and means should be developed to preserve them.
