STEINKOPF, South Africa — On a moonless night in the desert in the far west of South Africa, Avrill Kaffer had just finished making a sale when vehicles with flashing lights emerged out of the darkness and an officer from the Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit leapt from behind a nearby bush, ordering him to the ground. By the time Mr. Kaffer realized he had been set up, he was already in handcuffs. As he looked on, police officers proceeded to open up the eight large cardboard boxes he had brought with him. Inside, they found thousands of small, brown, dumpling-like plants — Conophytums, native to this part of Africa — evidently only recently dug up. Conophytum, a genus of flowering plants that consists of over 100 species — including several listed as endangered — are the latest victims of a global wave of succulent poaching driven by surging demand from collectors and enthusiasts around the world, but especially in China and Korea, experts said.

Source: International New York Times July 31, 2021 09:00 UTC