The demand for rare and unique plants plus the ease of being able to buy and sell plants online has contributed to the illegal succulent trade business. This, in turn, has created a nightmare for plant conservationists, particularly in South Africa. This article is intended to bring awareness to this problem and to suggest how you can avoid being part of the problem.
Succulents have become very popular and online succulent sales boomed during the Covid-19 pandemic. But not all plants are grown equally or harvested legally. Many are illegally harvested from South Africa. According to traffic.org, over 1.6 million plants from 650+ species were illegally harvested between 2019 to May of 2024. TRAFFIC is a non-governmental organization working with the South African government and botanical gardens to ensure that trade in wild species is legal and sustainable. Single confiscations included 60,000 individual plants and researchers believe whole species are extinct in the wild because of one harvesting event.Â
Succulents evolved to survive the harsh arid climate of South Africa and some animals depend on these water storing plants during dry spells. Many of the succulents in South Africa’s ‘Succulent Karoo Biome’ are endemic to the area and found nowhere else in the world. The Succulent Karoo is a nearly 45,000 square mile biodiverse, arid region spanning South Africa's Atlantic coast into Namibia. It hosts the planet's richest succulent flora—nearly 40% of the world’s succulent species—with 40% endemic to the region.Â
How would you know if you were contributing to the shady business of succulent poaching? Ask yourself these questions about plants you are about to purchase online:
Tips to tell if a succulent was propagated and grown in a nursery or sourced from the wild. | More likely to be propagated and grown in a nursery | Signs it may have been sourced from the wild |
Appearance | Neat and tidy. | Irregular. Like they’ve seen some things (hungry herbivores, fires, being stepped on, a rough harvesting and transport). |
Form | Upright like it was growing towards an artificial light. | Warped form potentially from winding around a rock or another plant to access sunlight. |
For species that only bloom once | No seed pods or flowers present | Seed pods or flowers present |
Size (for a species that takes a long time to mature) | Smaller | Large |
Roots | Uncut and in the shape of the pot it was planted in. | Cut from whatever the plant was growing on or around. |
Info | Seller has paperwork from a mother stock with legal permits and/or can tell you when a succulent was planted. | No additional information or paperwork upon request. |
Seller | A large, known, certified dealer. | Unknown individual |
Is the species you are buying protected? Always check with local and national laws to determine if it’s legal to possess your plant or move it across borders. Buying locally helps avoid issues with CITES (Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species) permits and reputable sellers should be able to provide you with proof of permitting. You can put the plant name into the IUCN Red List Portal to check to see if it is a succulent being threatened by trade. If it is and you can’t verify it was propagated sustainably, do not purchase it! Criminal networks used to traffic plants are often involved with other illegal activities. It would be best to buy from a seller with a legitimate certification from Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network, Fairtrade Flowers and Plants, or FairWild.
If you do think that a plant you found online has been harvested illegally, report it to the ecommerce platform it was listed on. Etsy, Ebay and other sites are partnering with the Coalition to end Wildlife Trafficking online to prevent the sale of illegally obtained plants. It pays to ask questions first. If a plant you bought online ends up being confiscated you could be the one that ends up in big trouble!Â
Succulents are fascinating plants and it is fun to acquire unusual and exotic plants. But, we all have a responsibility ensure that our purchases are legal not interfering with the ecosystem of the planet.
Resources
https://www.traffic.org/publications/reports/a-succulent-trade/
https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/26240/succulents_report.pdf
https://www.sanbi.org/media/sas-succulent-plants-experience-unprecedented-rates-of-decline/
Succulent Karoo, Wikipedia
Photo Credit: Kristin van Shie, TRAFFIC (1), Wikipedia, Dwergenenpaartje (2)