Smuggling wild orchids :(

[quiltergal]

I have to chime in and agree with Uechi. As long as there is a demand for these plants there will be illegal collecting. If you shut down ALL collecting including research, and possible propagation you just exacerbate the problem. In order to reduce the demand for newly discovered plants or rare and endangered plants you need a plan in place to make them more available in a responsible manner. This is important especially in light of the fact that many orchid habitats are shrinking or disappearing on an hourly basis! What good does it do to prevent their export if they are left to the mercy of slash and burn farming or worse in their native country? CITES needs to be run by scientists who understand the need for preservation on multiple levels. OK off my soapbox now before I get a nosebleed!

[unhappykat]

Originally Posted by stonedragonfarms

Correct me if I am wrong, but anything that was discovered before 1990 (and is in your collection) would be "legal"; anything discovered after that date falls into a grey area, as does anything that was wild collected and shipped after that date...then again, you enter further grey area depending on where it's from...Taiwan does not belong to CITES, so plants which are shipped from there, which bear the moniker "artificially propogated & nursery grown"--which indeed might not be, would still be legal... ARGH!

If thats the case this thing belongs to the gray area. I dont believe it was collected before 1990 and I know it belongs on the CITIES appendix 1. Does India belong to the CITIES, if not that might explain why it is here.

[sucuz]

[QUOTE=stonedragonfarms;136423]I know that many plants which have been confiscated have been sent to the Frederik Meijer gardens here in Michigan for propogation/quarentine...after an undetermined period, they are made available to nurseries for further propogation and eventual sale to the public.

This information is not entirely correct. Frederik Meijer Gardens IS one of several receiving partners for Orchid Rescue. The plants remain in government quarantine until released from customs officials (believe it is 30 days). Of those that survive quarantine (customs has neither the time nor expertise to care for plants in quarantine - they're on their own) some get shipped to FMG in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As part of the agreement, they are not permitted to sell or to propagate the plants for profit.

Kind of shows how hardy orchids really are that they survive such periods of no care at all. Orchids certainly are survivors.

We have not received any orchids in quite awhile now. (I asked our head horticulturist who is in charge of the orchid program.) Don't know if that is good (fewer plants being confiscated) or that there are now more rescue partners receiving orchids.

[sucuz]

Just an additional word about confiscated orchids being sent to Fredrick Meijer Gardens....NOIDS!!

One of the reasons that the plants are confiscated in the first place is that they are not accompanied by the proper paperwork. What paperwork there is usually gets separated from the plants when they get shipped to a rescue facility. That means that most of them are unidentified...no genus, no species, no nothing. Our orchid team can usually tell kinda what we have. When the plants come into bloom, that launches web searches to try to identify what we have and you all know how much fun (and frustration) comes when you play 'Name that Orchid'. Noids, noids, lots of noids!

[dgenovese1]

I must agree that this is a sad thing indeed. I happen to know the person that is represented in the article, and I would never have guessed that he would be party to such despicable activities. Chances are that the plants in question...collected in 2005...have all been sold or lost by this time.
I've got to admit that I’ve purchased 4 plants from him, but these were since July 2007. I'm hoping that they are not part of this scheme of his.
I’ve been told that his entire collection will be confiscated and destroyed, but this is only hearsay. If it’s true, I don’t understand why they have to be destroyed unless as stated by others there is no way for the government to care for them throughout the trial or perhaps the mechanisms needed to handle them properly and without profit are not in place here in south Florida.

[Jkelee]

Hi David, You are correct I'm sure, On the man. I took his Name out of the article, so I didn't get yelled at for leaving his name in there.

He and his family that gave him/sent him the plants need a whippin'!! A Hard one!!!

[stonedragonfarms]

Thanks for the clarification sucuz
Adam

[martinvermillion]

I may have found this site where some yellow lady slipper's were for sale illegally. Going by the picture the guy was offering to dig it up and send it to you right out of the wood's. Happen's all the time in West Virginia. I have only came across the yellow one''s a couple of times and have spent my entire life in these mountains.I guess it is possible they are not wild plant's.

[cloudswinger]

Small world story here... I was just at a local orchid show, and talking to a seller about going to Vietnam and importing some orchids. Well, he tells me to make sure they're not wild collected, and that you can get in big trouble for it. So he then admits he got in trouble for a relative sending him plants. It's the same guy. He said to look it up on the internet. I had just bought some seedlings from him, and he even gave me one free, so he doesn't seem to be the greedy type. He said that even if only one was wild collected, the whole batch is declared wild, and you're in deep trouble. Also told me how they tell if it's wild collected, just in case.