Was doing some research and came up with this!! Interesting or what......... wasn't you was it...lol!!
Rare orchid stolen
Thieves have dug up a rare British orchid from bog land in Norfolk, and now conservationists fear it may be extinct in East Anglia. It is believed the orchid, Hammarbya paludosa, was stolen from a nature reserve at night after the thieves left short lengths of dowel near the site to make it easy to find in darkness. Norfolk Wildlife Trust director Brendan Joyce said: 'The significance of this outrageous and despicable theft cannot be underestimated, undermining years of careful conservation work. What is even more sickening is that it is highly unlikely that the thieves will be able to propagate the orchids.'
(01/08/01)
For Alan
Its getting to be a regular thing here now louisa, getting organised and rare plants are being stolen to order, they did catch one thieving little git last year, banged him up for five years, he had 50.000 blue bell bulbs in his van when they caught him.
I know i was in Norfolk recently, but i dont do that sort of thing, lol, thanks for asking.
This is really terrible Alan! So the person/persons that stole this orchid knew it was near extinction and thought they could propagate it no doubt. I really don't understand this. If they did manage to increase the yield and tried to sell it, they surely would be picked up by the police immediately. Unless, some nutter wanted it for himself/herself!! What do you think? Anyone else have views on this?