South Africa’s Rare Plants Dissappearing
“Rare and endangered cycad plants, often referred to as living fossils, are being stolen in South Africa at an alarming rate, with at least two species from Limpopo province having disappeared completely, one of which was endemic to the region.

The thefts are not just confined to the wild populations; according to the National Botanical Institute (NBI), the country’s botanical gardens are also being targeted by cycad poachers. Numbers of these rare plants continue to decline in the wild and to disappear from national collections.

South Africa’s cycads had existed, little changed, for 40 million years. In the United States, collectors paid up to $20 000 for an Albany cycad.”