Thieves have been helping themselves to exotic and sometimes endangered plants at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, and officials are hoping public attention to the problem will help to solve it.
The Botanical Gardens’ associate director, Sean Lahmeyer said a groundskeeper discovered the most recent theft – a succulent plant he calls a "cultivar," meaning it was hybridized by horticulturists to create a new variant.
"Once these plants are gone," he said, "that whole ecosystem is affected. It's not just about one species."
To underscore the problem, Lahmeyer and his staff have installed signs at locations where plants have gone missing.
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"This plant was stolen," they say. "Plant theft is a crime."
Then, a QR code is displayed so observers can find out more about what happened.
With more than 80,000 plants in its collection and 13,000 variants, the Huntington may present a tempting target for plant pilferers, but Lahmeyer says stepped up security and cameras will hopefully change the paradigm.
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"Since 2021, we have had 61 instances of either vandalism of plant theft," he said.
Some of the thieves are just visitors, snapping up plants from the dirt as they pass by. Others are destined for a burgeoning "ornamental horticulture trade" – which Lahmeyer describes as a black market.
The purchases are often made by unsuspecting customers from unscrupulous on-line merchants.
Lahmeyer said the thieves’ favorites tend to be ornamental, which fetches the most money in overseas markets, particularly parts of Asia. This includes cycads, which can be exceedingly rare but extra valuable, various types of cacti and orchids.
Next year, the Huntington will host an awareness campaign for "buyers, sellers and even law enforcement," said Lahmeyer. Among the tips that will be revealed: urging plant buyers to ask where their purchasers come from, their "chain of custody."
He said such a campaign is necessary because the "illegal plant trade doesn’t get talked about nearly as much as the animal illegal trade."
