UK Thieves Are Pilfering, and Threatening, Rare Wild Orchids

An “especially selfish act,” says one expert, amounting to “mindless vandalism.”

A late spider orchid.ZUMA Press

This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

A spate of thefts of rare orchids from sites in southern England has concerned scientists, who say endangered species may be at risk. Orchid experts believe that the plants, from locations including in Sussex and Kent, may have been “stolen to order.”

Conservationists at the Sussex Wildlife Trust were dismayed last week to hear of at least 10 burnt-tip orchids missing from a national nature reserve at Mount Caburn, while in Kent the Hardy Orchid Society reported that 30 late spider orchids had been taken from a site in Folkestone.

Neil Evans, of the Hardy Orchid Society, said: “The theft represents a major loss to the population. They are only found in this country in a few sites in Kent.”

Burnt orchids and late spider orchids are threatened in Britain, with the former listed as endangered after substantial declines, and the latter assessed as having an estimated population of only a few hundred plants.

There are fears that these thefts could put pressure on already dwindling orchid populations, already affected by factors including agriculture and development, as well as in some cases being pushed by collectors towards local extinction.

“It is most certainly a risk to the survival of rare species,” Dr Peter Stroh, the scientific officer at the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI), told the Guardian. “Collecting orchids was a popular pastime for some in Victorian times, and it actually led to the extinction of one orchid species in Britain—Spiranthes aestivalis (summer lady’s tresses)—and almost resulted in the extinction of another, the lady’s slipper orchid, which is now found at only one native site, though conservation efforts have led to establishing it in a number of former sites, at great expense.”

“As well as being an especially selfish act, digging up orchids is also rather mindless vandalism. Orchids have a very strong symbiotic association with specific mycorrhizae (underground fungal ‘roots’), so it’s unlikely that the plants that were stolen would survive,” Stroh added. “Stealing a plant denies everyone else the opportunity to appreciate it, and also, in the case of very rare species such as the spider orchid, reduces the genetic pool and so potentially the health and long-term future of remaining populations.”

But keeping the sites secret to avoid theft, as some specialists suggest, brings its own problems. Richard Bateman, an orchid specialist associated with Kew Gardens, told the Guardian about one episode where a very rare orchid appeared in a gravel pit near St Albans seven or eight years ago. “Only four people ever saw it, of which I was one, and I was sworn to secrecy. The consequence of that was that four years later, several tons of gravel were dumped on top of the orchid and it no longer exists.”

“Meanwhile the last surviving orchid of one species in a secret location in Yorkshire is kept in a metal cage surrounded by wildlife trail cameras, and even those with impeccable research credentials are not allowed to see it.”

Because of the scale and precise nature of the thefts, some believe they could have been stolen “to order” by a professional thief.

Bateman said: “What makes this recent set of thefts interesting—it looks very much to me as they are being stolen to order for someone who wants to have wild, British examples of this plant. Members of the Hardy Orchid Society can easily grow these species from seed, so whoever is ordering these orchids wants examples of this plant that were growing in the wild.”

“It’s like the Da Vinci Code, I’m afraid,” he said. “Some foolish people insist on possessing the ‘real Mona Lisa’ rather than a copy.”

More Mother Jones reporting on Climate Desk

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with The Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with The Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate