Out With the Old State Flowers, In With the New

The National Wildlife Foundation has released "The Gardener's Guide to
Global Warming," a nifty compendium of tips for gardening in a changing climate. Disturbingly, the report describes how shifts in rainfall, temperature and ecological condition could conceivably drive seventeen state flowers and sixteen state trees out of their historical ranges.
If that happens, states might have to find new plants ... and on the plus side, perhaps the kudzu will finally get its due?

New research shows that global warming could wipe out one-fifth of wildflower species in parts of the West as dominant grasses take over.
Studies also suggest that with a mean global warming of 5.4 degrees
Fahrenheit, which is well within the range of warming projected during this century, 7–11 percent of 15,148 native vascular plant species in
North America (1,060–1,670 species) could be entirely out of their historically optimal climatic range.

Related Wired coverage here.

Gardener's Guide to Global Warming [National Wildlife Foundation]
*
Image: James Reynolds*