Your article on the Bank of England’s plans to feature nature on future banknotes (‘A toad is a perfect tenner’: experts recommend wild candidates for new banknotes, 21 March) underlines how deeply the natural world shapes our national identity. Yet it was striking that in the suggested wild candidates for the notes, one of nature’s most fundamental elements was overlooked.
If this exercise is truly about “representing the underdog”, then plants and fungi are the most obvious omission. They underpin all life but continue to be sidelined – a reminder of how easily we ignore the very foundations of the natural world.
Our native flora and fungi form the essential fabric of our ecosystems: shaping landscapes, sustaining animals, birds and insects, and supporting the health of our environment. As the Bank of England embarks on its consultation, it has a genuine opportunity to bring these vital species into the spotlight. Celebrating plants and fungi on our banknotes would not only recognise their immense value, but also inspire a deeper public appreciation for the living systems that sustain us all.
Nicola Hutchinson
Chief executive, Plantlife International
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