cindy
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Posts: 226
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Post by cindy on Nov 13, 2008 4:47:05 GMT
As much as the CP community is aware of Tony's and Sunbelle's stolen plants, I hope this thread will bring about awareness to numerous wild-collected adult Cephalotus plants being offered for sale in the next couple of months. I was told that the plants were stolen before the ICPS conference (this October) and the delegates also did not get to see the plants in their full glory. But I didn't think I could be so utterly disgusted with the poacher's (or poachers') behaviour. One photo which was stuck in my mind was that of Barry Rice staring at the same area with his mouth wide open in astonishment. But when I saw the patch where there were supposed to be hundreds of Cephalotus, all I saw was barren soil. I nearly burst out in tears!  I stretched out my hand to see how far up were the Cephs which remained safe. I am 5ft 2" and the thief (or thieves) is (are) much taller.  The area which was safe from the thief (or thieves).  Whoever that took the plants had planned to do so. That conclusion came about from the way how the media was put back "nicely". The area was barren yet neat, not full of pot holes which will be typical of an impromtu poaching. From the way the media was replaced, the thief seemed to be planning to go back for more later...when the plants re-grow on the same area. Or was he (or she or they) hoping that no one noticed the completely bald patch?! This site which the plants are is found in the wild, is the ONLY unique site with such conditions. The patch where the plants were removed made up of a significant percentage of the entire growing area. My anger and disgust stem from being denied the rights to enjoy the plants as they should be. And the damage done is already nearly irreparable. In 1-3 years' time, the plants higher up the slope is likely to be lost because the media below had been tampered with. Cephs will not become extinct because of this but it means that there is no longer a site which shows how adaptable this species can be. There are many of us who would like to return to the site with our children or grandchildren to show them how this species grow. |
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Post by jj1109 on Nov 13, 2008 5:51:38 GMT
that's disgraceful. there's not words for people who do that :/
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Post by Brian Barnes on Nov 13, 2008 11:02:53 GMT
Cindy,
That truly is heartbreaking news indeed. It seems that such disgusting acts are increasing in frequency world-wide.
Here in Florida, one of our most beautiful sites to see Sarracenia flava nigrapurpurea in situ, has been pillaged beyond comprehension. And the same "covering the holes neatly" trait is quite evident. I remember first seeing this remarkable form a little over 20 years ago. Huge colonies of healthy plants accompanied by the S. flava 'heavily veined' form. Most of the nigrapurps have been removed and a few straggly 'heavily veined' forms are about all that are left now.
The same holds true for the beautifully rare and exotic Pinguicula ionantha, who's dwindling numbers are decreasing each year. Despite the efforts of myself and other enthusiasts to keep these sites secret and undisclosed, people still seem to find them and remove them anyways.
Barry and I also came across large empty plastic trays when we were touring the Panhandle this year and photographing Pinguicula primuliflora in situ. The thieves were using this site as a consistent harvesting site for these rare gems...I actually lost sleep that night, worrying about their well-being in the future.
I plan on working much closer with our wonderful State and Park officials in the days to come, to try and remedy this increasing problem.
Also, I'll be working with Laura Gadd of the North Carolina Plant Conservation program, to tag and track their native Dionaea populations to remedy their poaching problems.
Happy Growing,
Brian.
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Post by brokken on Nov 13, 2008 17:25:00 GMT
This is especially disturbing in light of the fact that Cephs are relatively easy to reproduce. Not fast growers, but certainly not impossible to attain from a simple cutting. :/
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Post by BarryRice on Nov 14, 2008 0:42:07 GMT
Hey Cindy,
Terrible news.
When I was there, it took me, Beth, and Phill about 20 minutes to pick our way along the coast. All along the way, we saw signs of land slumps and slippage. So I am wondering...
1)Did you get all the way to the site? If you went with an "old hand" like Phill, I'm sure you did. But until we got to the real site there was very little to see, other than the odd plant here and there, and lots of slide activity.
2)Is there any indication that this really was poaching, or rather land slippage. If this really happened at that spectacular site, it is a sad, sad day indeed. But I wonder if the land slippage and erosion that we were seeing elsewhere might have just happened at that site?
I guess I just wouldn't even understand the basics of doing that much plant stealing. I mean, there were so many plants there, I couldn't imagine anyone would ever possibly need that many...and they'd be so heavy and difficult to transport....
But I suppose that, poaching or land slippage, if that site got hit that hard, it is a sad day indeed. A very sad day.
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cindy
Full Member
Posts: 226
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Post by cindy on Nov 14, 2008 4:18:37 GMT
Hi Barry,
I went to the same wall which you had your photo taken. It was empty. I remembered asking, "How come there are no cephs here? I want to go "WAH!" like Barry." The reply I got was that the plants were stolen. I was very very disappointed. All plants below a certain height had disappeared. I couldn't move back further to take a wide angle photo of the area otherwise it would be clear how the plants were actually taken.
There have been suggestions that it could be due to the die-off that Cephs are famous for but their disappearance happened within a rather short period and there were no dead plants found.
We spent 2 hours at the site, studying the area. I took photos of the areas affected by mild erosion, as well as by land slides. Sadly, it is still very evident that the plants' been poached even though several weeks have passed.
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Post by sarracenialover on Nov 14, 2008 5:49:18 GMT
Well, that's very sad. Shame on those who care only about themselves. THey do not know the meaning of "nature". i would rather see one natural site of carnivorous plants in the wild than have hundreds of plants in my collection. Even the best looking plant in cultivation is nothing compared to one in the wild. They are just at their best in their natural habitat.
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Post by picrophyll on Nov 14, 2008 13:21:18 GMT
Barry, yes I guided Cindy to the site. The first wall we came to with some very nice plants has succumbed to nature and has slid to oblivion. The main wall where you were showing your amazement is now barren as in Cindy's photo. When there with the ICPS Conference tour, we annalysed the situation. Above outstretched arm height the plants were beautiful and healthy but below this area were only a few shoots appearing. If it was due to natural dieing off then old pitchers and plants would be evident. There is nothing left. On the ledge below it was a plant that had recently been cut out and dropped. The wall is only sand but is covered with a netting of algae and covers over quickly.
Unfortunately a local posted several photos of the site in an effort to create some sort of interest in himself. These gave the location away. I know of at least one collector who has made at least 3 trips here in search of Cephs but wont contact me for obvious reasons. He may have made a successful journey, who knows
Phill
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Post by Alexis on Nov 14, 2008 19:11:53 GMT
What's the point? What are you going to do with a few hundred 'hot' plants?  |
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Post by David Ahrens on Nov 14, 2008 20:46:44 GMT
Phill took me to the site a day or so before the ICPS field trip was to go there.
I really don't know what we can do about this. There will always be someone, somewhere who will give out locations of these sites. In some ways, the internet has made this situation worse.
We were taken to some really choice CP sites on the ICPS field trip, I hope that this sort of thing doesn't happen to any of those sites as well.
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cindy
Full Member
Posts: 226
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Post by cindy on Nov 15, 2008 9:31:27 GMT
Thanks, Phill. It was difficult for me to validate the fact that the plants were really taken from the site because of my lack of vocabulary and experience in describing how the media is like.
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taz6122
Full Member
Yesterday is History.Tomorrow is a Mystery and Today is a Gift.Thats why we call it the Present.
Posts: 289
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Post by taz6122 on Nov 18, 2008 4:33:29 GMT
I would like to get a hold of these ppl and Plant them!
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Post by BarryRice on Nov 18, 2008 20:09:43 GMT
Hey Phill, Cindy,
Damn. That's really bad news. That place was amazing.
I don't understand the economics....why would anyone steal that many plants?
Regardless of what happened or how these plants died, this is terrible.
B
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Post by PingKing on Nov 26, 2008 19:01:15 GMT
horrible news
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Post by noname on Jun 5, 2010 11:45:14 GMT
they would steal all those cephs for money, after all cephs are pretty pricey
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