Plant thieves are making life miserable for botanical gardens and collectors of cyads in the Southern United States.
The thieves (are) after cycads, palmlike plants so prized that a rare
specimen can fetch $20,000 or more on the international black market.
Some species have been around since the time of the dinosaurs but are
now close to extinction.In September, thieves broke into the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
in Coral Gables, Florida, taking advantage of the evacuation for
Hurricane Frances, and stole more than 30 cycads. "In the black market,
some species of cycads are like a fine piece of art — like a Picasso,"
garden spokeswoman Nannette Zapata said at the time.Some species are essentially priceless and, if stolen, couldn’t be displayed.
"It
would be like having a stolen Picasso. Everybody would know that
plant," said Julian Duval, executive director of Quail Botanical
Gardens in Encinitas, which locked its most precious cycads in a
greenhouse after a theft nearly two years ago.
POLLENATRIX 