Removing plants from the wild
- To: perennials@mallorn.com
- Subject: Removing plants from the wild
- From: p*@iol.ie (Jane Powers)
- Date: Mon, 1 Feb 1999 13:19:01 +0000
I hope that Neil gives a good home to all those yellow flowers, and the
assorted bulbs, corms or tubers that offered themselves up to his shovel.
But, it is unlikely that all (or maybe any) of the plants will survive
being transplanted to a different environment.
Nowadays it is accepted that it is not a good idea to dig up wild plants.
If everybody did this... etc. etc. You know the rest of the argument.
If you do see plants in the wild that you fancy, you should see if any of
them have set seed. Some of this can be collected, but not all of it. There
are guidelines (which I read about on Alpine-L, but can't rightly remember)
for seed-collecting. I think it is acceptable to collect about 10 per cent
of the seed, but then you must scatter the rest around the plant so that it
has a chance to regenerate.
In the case of rare plants, seed-collecting should be left to the experts
who have the knowledge and experience to propagate it correctly, and who
have a duty to increase the numbers of the plant, and if necessary return
it back to the wild.
It is unlikely that Neil has made a negative impact on the native flora of
the region where he dug up the stuff, but it's better to be aware of the
consequences. Even though the plant itself may not be rare, some species
develop a particular strain to suit a certain locality which means that a)
they will not acclimatise to a different region with its different
conditions, and b) the removal of numbers of this plant could lead to the
extinction of that particular strain with its unique genetic make-up.
I realise that Neil was prompted to remove these plants by the sheer
delight that he felt when he saw them, and I'm sure he had no idea that
what he was doing was unacceptable.
Jane Powers
Dublin, Ireland (Zone 8)
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