Greetings for the summer! This season, "PUKUBOOK SUCCULENTS" is taking a summer break. I've decided to step back a little from plant care and instead tackle a theme I've left untouched: "Summer Independent Research."
The theme this time is a bit serious: "Smuggling" and "Illegal Harvesting." These might sound like dark terms, but I'm sure you've been seeing them more often on social media and auction sites. What exactly is happening in the succulent world, when, and where? And as hobbyists, what kind of stance should we take? I've tried to organize my thoughts on this.
This article isn't about unilaterally supporting one specific side. I hope it serves as a hint for you to consider your own stance after learning both perspectives.
By the way, to share my conclusion first: As long as it's legally clear (and ideally sustainable and fair-trade), I believe wild-collected or imported plants are perfectly okay. Personally, I don't own any, I've never bought one, and I don't plan to (simply because they are expensive, and that "wild look" only lasts for a moment in cultivation...).
For this research, I did ask for help from our friend AI, but much of the information it provided was either second-hand, irrelevant articles, or dangerous content that sounded convincing but lacked evidence. In the end, I had to re-investigate, re-study, and summarize almost everything myself. Honestly, I'd like to tell AI to do its job more properly.
The "Kokuoumaru," or Copiapoa cinerea C. cinerea , has been a representative species of high-end cacti for a long time. Unlike the cacti commonly found in stores, this one is a particularly slow grower, surviving in Chile's Atacama Desert—an area where it barely rains even a few times a year. Its aesthetic beauty makes it perennially popular, but that's exactly why some people target them.
The news that shook the world started in Italy in February 2020. At the greenhouse of Andrea Piombetti, a well-known collector living in Italy, 1,035 smuggled Copiapoa plants worth 1 million euros (approx. 135 million yen) were seized. They were reportedly poached in Chile and smuggled into Italy via Romania and Greece, where customs are less stringent (based on official investigation reports, not a confession). It was discovered from his receipts that "many orders were also coming from Japanese companies every month."
Subsequently, in March 2021, many of the seized cacti were returned to 11 locations within the Atacama Desert under the management of CONAF, the Chilean Ministry of Environment. While "returned" sounds simple, it involved Italian botanical gardens and expert teams navigating international bureaucracies for permits. The shipping costs for the return were covered by the IUCN, the Milan Botanical Garden, and Liz Vayda, owner of the Maryland plant shop "B.Willow." It's clear this was achieved through the dedication of many people.
The Cactus and Succulent Society of America has banned the exhibition of plants that cannot be legally obtained in shows and contests. President Jeff Pavlat stated: "We can't tell members that a Copiapoa collected in Chile in the 70s won an award and then say, 'This plant is currently unavailable. If you grow it from seed, you can have one in 200 years.'"
■ Related Articles
Cactus Overhunting Spreads on Social Networking (GIZMODE)
The Cactus Thieve Are Emptying the Desert (New York Times)
Over a thousand illegally poached Copiapoa return to their native Chile (IUCN) 2021
Authorities became suspicious when they noticed an odd increase in "Chinese-made toys" being exported from South Africa to China. Upon investigation, they weren't toys, but smuggled goods. Succulent demand spiked during the 2020 pandemic. In South Africa, illegal harvesting and seizures have been surging at a rate of 200% annually, with over 242,000 plants in 2022 alone. It is said that 1.5 million plants have been taken over the past three years.
Smuggling endangered plants is a serious crime, with 90 arrests annually. However, those arrested are usually the bottom tier of trafficking groups—local people digging up plants for international syndicates. In this region, where unemployment and poverty rates are high, poaching succulents can be a modest but attractive source of income. Yet, according to the WWF, "Unfortunately, all profits from illegal trade flow overseas, and the people of South Africa gain nothing."
■ Related Articles
Poachers Pluck South Africa's Succulent Plants for Chinese Market (VOA NEWS) 2023
Pachypodium, rare plants endemic to Madagascar, have become targets for illegal trade aimed at Asian markets. Roissy Airport in France has become a major transit point, and 96% of seizures over the past five years were destined for Asia, including Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand. In 2022, there were 16 seizures with an average value of just under 3,230 euros per case. While this scale doesn't reach that of ivory or rhino horn, it is undeniably endangering an extremely fragile natural heritage. "We realized the scale of smuggling from Madagascar. Since Madagascar is home to many protected species, we are very much on high alert."
Globally, the trafficking of endangered species, including flora and fauna, is estimated to generate between 8 and 20 billion euros. This is the fourth largest illegal trade after drug trafficking, human trafficking, and arms smuggling.
■ Related Articles
Madagascar The Pachypodium, victims of a little-known but lucrative traffic (Jeune Afrique) 2022
Kim Byung-su, a 46-year-old South Korean national, was imprisoned for illegally harvesting over 3,700 Dudleya plants from California State Parks with intent to export them to South Korea. According to the US government, he is an "international succulent trafficker" and perhaps the most notorious plant poacher in the world. He visited the US over 50 times, and while not all crimes during those visits could be proven, export records suggest he took more than 120,000 wild plants since 2013. Knowing the risk of prosecution in the US in 2019, he fled to South Korea via Mexico. However, undeterred, he was later arrested in South Africa while attempting to take out over 2,000 Conophytum. After a year of imprisonment in South Africa, he was extradited to the US.
Initially, these plants were thought to be popular among "trend-conscious youth and housewives," but a study by the University of Alabama pointed out that rare Dudleya species do not circulate among that demographic. Instead, South Korea serves as a hub for beautification and mass production, with plants sold as rare high-end specimens to collectors in South Korea, China, Europe, and the US—indicating a market with much deeper roots.
■ Related Articles
A Crime Against Nature The Rise and Fall of the World’s Most Notorious Succulent Thief (The Guardian) 2022
Korean "Housewives" and "Hipsters" Are Not the Main Drivers Complexity of Consumption Motivations in the Illegal Trade of Dudleya (University of Alabama) 2020
One reason this topic of "wild-collected" plants has gained heat in Japan is likely a video posted by "ROUKA PLANTS" (Feb 2025), a popular hobbyist and YouTuber in the Agave world. His opinion is "cutting-edge," and to summarize it briefly:
I have never bought a wild-collected plant and never will.
The mass harvesting and distribution of slow-growing wild Agave feels completely wrong.
Saying seed-grown plants don't look like wild ones is an "escape from horticulture."
Potting a wild plant is "consumption," not "horticulture."
Wild plants are beautiful because they are in the wild. If you find that beautiful, you should create a "wild-style" look yourself.
In other words, "If wild plants look cool, let's create that coolness from propagated plants. That's what 'horticulture' is, right?" Echoing this, a video by "THE CORE" posted four days later stated:
I used to buy wild-collected plants, but now I am clearly against it.
Legally, I check if the documents are in order. If they are, that's enough.
Ethically, especially for common species, harvesting should stop. "Isn't it enough already?"
I don't like the idea of pushing 'culture' to the point of destroying 'nature.'
These words are like a cold shower for those who simply thought, "It's cool, so I want it." Hearing this makes one think, "Maybe I should stop buying wild plants," and the act of buying them starts to feel like someone who doesn't know the facts = someone "uncool."
Perhaps this "change in values" will be what fundamentally solves the environmental issues of wild plants. Shifting from "Wild is cool" to "Wild is outdated."
For example, during the Showa era, there was a mood where "smoking" was seen as a status symbol, which is hard to believe now. It's bad for your health and has poor cost-performance. It's not smart. It's "uncool." That's the value system today. (I have a friend who smokes, but he does it to relax because he likes it, not to look cool. He uses e-cigarettes and has great manners, so I don't judge him at all.(
This might date me, but when I hear "poaching," I think of the "mermaid episode" in Yoshihiro Togashi's *Level E* (Vol. 3, No. 14 'Boy meets Girl'). The rich man who bought the only rare mermaid in the universe at a black auction was depicted as a typical "low-life." Am I a "low-life" for wanting a rare wild plant that nobody else has?
"Habitat Style" is a horticultural genre where you pot plants in a way that "evokes their native land," as if you've cut out the plant along with the ground it grew in. PUKUBOOK has introduced this in our Habitat Style Special Feature. Hearing this term, one might think, "If I'm styling a habitat, I have to get a wild plant," but the authors of the books clearly deny this. I'll re-excerpt what was in the feature:
This book has two themes. One is to pot and layout plants by imagining their native habitat. The other is to grow those plants to be as wild as those in nature... Why not try the challenge of making a greenhouse-grown plant that's as tough as a wild one? (Shabomaniac!)
In other words, the true intent of "Habitat Style" is "the methodology of approaching the look of the wild using propagated seedlings." It's the idea that if you want the plant to look like it does in nature, you must make the pot's environment the same as nature. It's the result, not the start. You don't make it look wild when you plant it; you create a wild-like environment, and consequently, after several years, it ends up looking wild.
# After all, without those horticultural skills, even if you plant a wild specimen, its form will change immediately anyway...
As with anything, satisfying yourself with only one side of the story can lead to biased and dangerous thinking. In this article, I will also introduce opposing views—those that "think positively about wild-collected and imported plants."
If you want to enjoy a completed plant, imported ones are recommended! Plants grown in harsh natural environments emit a different kind of charm. The World of Enjoying Caudex Plants (B MING by BEAMS 2021)
Why are wild-collected and imported plants celebrated? This BEAMS blog captures that intuitive feeling: Because they're cool. Of course, I'm not saying that's bad. After all, it's human nature to find further value in a plant because of its "deep backstory." Even Mr. Kono, who is supposedly against wild collection, can't help but mention it:
The ruggedness of the branches, the compactness, and the wildness of wild plants are, so to speak, the result of "natural pruning." Interview 09 / Plant Researcher Tadatoki Kono (TOKY Staff Blog 2018)
*Note: It's important to recognize that he isn't saying "therefore wild plants are superior," but merely stating a "fact." However, hearing this, one naturally thinks, "I see, so that's why they're so charming." That's a natural reaction.
It's human nature that when told "No" to something charming or something we want, we don't just say "Okay." Saying "Because it's charming" sounds like an excuse, but we must understand it's an excuse that can never be fully eliminated. An extreme example is the Prohibition era, where banning alcohol led to the rise of bootlegging and the mafia, ruining public order. We need to acknowledge the charm and think of ways to control it effectively.
Honestly, it all boils down to this. There are people whose job is to responsibly grow wild species under human management and sell them without significantly affecting the natural environment. The CITES system exists to say, "These people are allowed to do business!" So if they are complying with such laws, outsiders have no right to stop them, nor is there a need to refrain from buying.
It's logical to think that if someone is operating within the law—meaning there is no strict crackdown—then the act actually doesn't have as much impact as people say. People say pulling wild plants to sell is bad, but no one considers it a crime to pull weeds in their own garden. Many object to cutting trees in city parks, but why does no one say anything when mountains in the countryside are cleared for data centers or mega-solar farms? Environmental issues tend to focus on what's "easy to imagine," but those "problems" might not actually be problems. If you say it's a problem, provide the evidence to prove it.
# Other opinions include: "It shortens the time (10-30 years) it would take from seed (reducing costs and making them easier to obtain)," "It brings more diverse genetics into the hobby, helping improve cultivars," and "Increasing popularity and awareness can draw attention to conservation (similar to the debate over zoos)." However, these arguments feel weak or have many counter-arguments, and ultimately don't seem to escape the "But they're charming" sentiment.
So, in this article, I'll explore one last point: the idea that it "helps the local economy."
If we take plants that were ignored in that region and attach monetary value to them, it becomes money and jobs, which I believe leads to the protection of the habitat. (Note: This is mentioned as a "possibility" and not a recommendation for harvesting and selling) About Wild and Mountain-Collected Plants (Ito Myrmecophyte Garden 2022)
Mr. Ito's "idealism" isn't just a pipe dream; there are actual examples of international organizations tackling this as a real-world issue.
FairWild refers to the FairWild Foundation, an international organization promoting the sustainable and fair use of wild-harvested plants. It is an international non-profit based in Switzerland. This organization was developed with the involvement of the WWF, TRAFFIC, and the IUCN.
Primarily, it targets wild plants harvested as raw materials, so ornamental Haworthia or Pachypodium might not be covered. However, for example, Aloe ferox A. ferox —whose leaf extracts are used in cosmetics—is certified based on criteria such as whether harvesters receive fair pay and whether there is no negative impact on the local ecosystem.
I searched for a similar model in the succulent world, but couldn't find one yet. However, it's a fact that nearby industries are working on it, and I can't help but hope that the succulent world follows suit soon.
For now, the basic conclusion is: "If it doesn't violate regulations, it's okay." That said, you can't tell just by looking whether a succulent in front of you is truly compliant, and sometimes plants that have violated laws are quietly lined up, either intentionally or unknowingly. For those who have learned this, here are the three steps I recommend:
1. Prioritize nursery-grown plants (seedlings or offsets)
2. Search "Scientific Name + CITES" before buying
3. Ask the seller about their "stance" (on legal compliance and documentation)
First, don't go straight from "I want it" to "I'm buying it!" Stop for a moment and search. Many plants have no regulations at all, so feel free to buy those without worry. And toward shops, you can certainly ask "Do you have the papers?" but it might also be good to ask, "What do you think about recent poaching and smuggling issues?" to gauge their "stance." I think that's a better way to find a shop worth having a long-term relationship with...
CREATIVE COMMONS BY-NC 2026
PUKUBOOK SOME RIGHTS RESERVED.
BenefitFewer ads for a cleaner display♪
