Avoid buying illegally harvested succulents
18 cases related to plant crimes registered
According to the Namibia National Wildlife Protection Report for 2024, Namibian flora is clearly becoming increasingly popular in the ornamental-plant trade, driven by online marketing.
The popularity of succulents has surged in recent years, however this has caused increased demand for rare species, in particular caudiciform plants and dwarf succulents.
Living Desert Plants said that in cases where registered nurseries are unable to meet the demand, some unscrupulous individuals have turned to the natural world as their supplier.
It said that these individuals illegally harvest plants from their native environments and offer them for sale.
This mostly, but not always, happens online, on social media or via private messaging apps and makes it difficult for authorities to clamp down on this unethical practice.
Living Desert Plants found its roots as a hobby-turned-business created by Harry Lewis in early 2018 in South Africa.
According to Lewis , poaching is the illegal removal of a plant from its natural habitat to be utilized for the horticultural trade.
He said that in the past, a handful of overzealous international collectors personally visited South Africa to remove plants.
“This pattern has now shifted and has become increasingly similar to the abalone and rhino poaching crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic is almost certainly what drove this change.”
Lewis said that consequently, poachers are now stripping plants from their habitats on a commercial scale, driving entire populations to local or complete extinction overnight.
According to him, the most sought-after varieties are then shipped overseas, mostly to Asian countries, the United States, or Europe. Generally, targeted plants are slow-growing species that take many years, some even decades, to produce their most desirable traits and features.
“This means that unethical growers will poach the plants to obtain them quickly, so that they can sell them for a hefty fee.”
He said that unfortunately, these plants do not remain confined to illegal black market sales as specimens have found their way into local nurseries, or to private sellers online.
“This makes it possible that you may from time-to-time find illegally harvested succulents available for purchase.”
Signs of an illegally harvested succulent
Lewis explained that a plant may show several physical signs if it has originated from nature.
The first and most obvious indicator is that it appears weathered. In other words, it has accumulated damage from natural causes over many years, mainly from the sun, herbivores, or insects.
Meanwhile cultivated plants, which grow in near-perfect conditions, do not show this. Lewis said that reputable nurseries do not sell plants with sunburnt stems or leaves damaged by herbivores and insects.
Additionally, poached plants often show signs of rough handling.
“Poachers use shovels or other tools to remove them from nature, leaving deep cuts and scars. If poachers transported the plants out of the veld in a bag, they may have grazes or bruises. Dirt or stains is often also a sign of a poached plant.”
He said that the next sign is not always immediately obvious.
“People will have roughly removed these plants from the ground without taking care to handle their roots and stems appropriately.”
Lewis said that the root systems of poached plants may be far smaller, or they may have no roots at all. The roots will also have muddy brown soil attached, which is not something you will see in soil mediums that most nurseries use.
“Also, some poached plants may have been grown in cultivation to improve their appearance before being sold. You may notice that there is a section of the plant where a change in growth occurs. This shift from weathered to ‘perfect’ may be quite noticeable,” said Lewis.
Lastly, he said that some poached plants can also be much larger than their nursery grown counterparts, purely due to their age. Poachers target the older specimens, as these can be sold for a higher price. For example, if you see a very large cluster of Conophytum for sale at a low price, the odds are high that someone removed it from nature. If the offer seems too good to be true, then it generally is.
Recognizing reputable nurseries
A good nursery will happily show you their propagations or seedlings to prove that they have grown their plants in cultivation. This process is also known as artificial propagation. Additionally, if they are able to share good information about how to care for the plant, and their knowledge of the species is sound, then they have likely been legally growing that plant for some time.
However, if a nursery offers extra-large plants at surprisingly low prices, it is a sure sign that someone illegally acquired the plants. This is particularly true for nurseries located near the plants’ natural habitats, but you should also be wary of online market places. There are unfortunately some Facebook pages and WhatsApp groups that offer illegally harvested succulents.
Most illegally harvested succulents are sourced from outside protected areas in Namibia, in South Africa in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, and Northern Cape provinces, and other southern African countries such as Madagascar. Mozambique, Tanzania, and Malawi have been implicated as transit countries in the illegal succulent trade from South Africa and Namibia.
This is according to the report “The Legal and Illegal Trade in Succulent flora Stemming from South Africa”.
According to the Namibia National Wildlife Protection Report for 2024, Namibian flora is clearly becoming increasingly popular in the ornamental-plant trade, driven by online marketing.
Statistics provided in the report showed that 1 211 plant products were seized last year and 18 cases related to plant crimes were registered and nine cases were finalised.
There were five suspects convicted, resulting in a 56% conviction rate.
- [email protected]
Living Desert Plants said that in cases where registered nurseries are unable to meet the demand, some unscrupulous individuals have turned to the natural world as their supplier.
It said that these individuals illegally harvest plants from their native environments and offer them for sale.
This mostly, but not always, happens online, on social media or via private messaging apps and makes it difficult for authorities to clamp down on this unethical practice.
Living Desert Plants found its roots as a hobby-turned-business created by Harry Lewis in early 2018 in South Africa.
According to Lewis , poaching is the illegal removal of a plant from its natural habitat to be utilized for the horticultural trade.
He said that in the past, a handful of overzealous international collectors personally visited South Africa to remove plants.
“This pattern has now shifted and has become increasingly similar to the abalone and rhino poaching crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic is almost certainly what drove this change.”
Lewis said that consequently, poachers are now stripping plants from their habitats on a commercial scale, driving entire populations to local or complete extinction overnight.
According to him, the most sought-after varieties are then shipped overseas, mostly to Asian countries, the United States, or Europe. Generally, targeted plants are slow-growing species that take many years, some even decades, to produce their most desirable traits and features.
“This means that unethical growers will poach the plants to obtain them quickly, so that they can sell them for a hefty fee.”
He said that unfortunately, these plants do not remain confined to illegal black market sales as specimens have found their way into local nurseries, or to private sellers online.
“This makes it possible that you may from time-to-time find illegally harvested succulents available for purchase.”
Signs of an illegally harvested succulent
Lewis explained that a plant may show several physical signs if it has originated from nature.
The first and most obvious indicator is that it appears weathered. In other words, it has accumulated damage from natural causes over many years, mainly from the sun, herbivores, or insects.
Meanwhile cultivated plants, which grow in near-perfect conditions, do not show this. Lewis said that reputable nurseries do not sell plants with sunburnt stems or leaves damaged by herbivores and insects.
Additionally, poached plants often show signs of rough handling.
“Poachers use shovels or other tools to remove them from nature, leaving deep cuts and scars. If poachers transported the plants out of the veld in a bag, they may have grazes or bruises. Dirt or stains is often also a sign of a poached plant.”
He said that the next sign is not always immediately obvious.
“People will have roughly removed these plants from the ground without taking care to handle their roots and stems appropriately.”
Lewis said that the root systems of poached plants may be far smaller, or they may have no roots at all. The roots will also have muddy brown soil attached, which is not something you will see in soil mediums that most nurseries use.
“Also, some poached plants may have been grown in cultivation to improve their appearance before being sold. You may notice that there is a section of the plant where a change in growth occurs. This shift from weathered to ‘perfect’ may be quite noticeable,” said Lewis.
Lastly, he said that some poached plants can also be much larger than their nursery grown counterparts, purely due to their age. Poachers target the older specimens, as these can be sold for a higher price. For example, if you see a very large cluster of Conophytum for sale at a low price, the odds are high that someone removed it from nature. If the offer seems too good to be true, then it generally is.
Recognizing reputable nurseries
A good nursery will happily show you their propagations or seedlings to prove that they have grown their plants in cultivation. This process is also known as artificial propagation. Additionally, if they are able to share good information about how to care for the plant, and their knowledge of the species is sound, then they have likely been legally growing that plant for some time.
However, if a nursery offers extra-large plants at surprisingly low prices, it is a sure sign that someone illegally acquired the plants. This is particularly true for nurseries located near the plants’ natural habitats, but you should also be wary of online market places. There are unfortunately some Facebook pages and WhatsApp groups that offer illegally harvested succulents.
Most illegally harvested succulents are sourced from outside protected areas in Namibia, in South Africa in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, and Northern Cape provinces, and other southern African countries such as Madagascar. Mozambique, Tanzania, and Malawi have been implicated as transit countries in the illegal succulent trade from South Africa and Namibia.
This is according to the report “The Legal and Illegal Trade in Succulent flora Stemming from South Africa”.
According to the Namibia National Wildlife Protection Report for 2024, Namibian flora is clearly becoming increasingly popular in the ornamental-plant trade, driven by online marketing.
Statistics provided in the report showed that 1 211 plant products were seized last year and 18 cases related to plant crimes were registered and nine cases were finalised.
There were five suspects convicted, resulting in a 56% conviction rate.
- [email protected]
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