Cactus thievery

Living Rock cactus is a delightful plant that exists at CMO. It's hard to locate when it's not in bloom.

October 2014 CMO

A friend brought an article to my attention that had this to say:

Those who study cactus theft say that changing consumer trends are putting new species at risk. One of the hottest commodities at the moment is Ariocarpus fissuratus, commonly called the living rock cactus. To the untrained observer this little lump of a plant looks completely unremarkable, like a dark green sea sponge. But in the fall, when conditions are right, the cactus is topped with bright pink flowers.

Not-for-profit nurseries across the south-west often serve as rescue facilities for confiscated wild plants. One of those is the Pima County Native Plant Nursery in Tucson, Arizona. In December last year, the nursery received 200 Ariocarpus fissuratus from a seizure by US Customs and Border Protection. According to Jessie Byrd, the nursery manager, a man was caught with some 2,000 plants, stolen in west Texas, that he was attempting to get across the border into Mexico.

Her greenhouse was filled with living rocks being rehabilitated after their stressful journey. “This was stolen because it is coveted by collectors,” said Byrd, holding one of the cacti in her hand. The living rock is extremely slow-growing even by cactus standards: the shriveled, black specimen she held was about the size of a tennis ball. She said it was 30 to 40 years old.

In 2015, US officials made another large seizure of Ariocarpus fissuratus and those plants – all 3,500 of them – ended up at a greenhouse in Alpine, Texas, belonging to Sul Ross State University. “You could tell the people who stole the plants were money lovers, not cactus lovers,” said Karen Little, Sul Ross’s greenhouse manager. “The plants were just yanked out of the ground and stuffed into garbage bags.”

Authorities suspect the plants were stolen from nearby public lands, including Big Bend national park and Big Bend Ranch state park. “Cactus theft is a huge issue in the Trans Pecos,” said Little, referring to the sprawling desert in west Texas where Sul Ross is located. “We have whole genetic lines of cacti that have been wiped out by poachers.”

Those of you who follow my blog know how passionate I am about the subject. While certainly not  the worse tragedy in the world, it's still a tragedy.