Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2000 23:34:42 +0200 From: strega@split.it (Tassara) To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg1253$foo@default> Subject: Why not collecting wild plants?
Dear list,
I've read with much interest the discussion about wild collection of CPs.
I've appreciated the many points of view.
However, I can't agree with the absolute rigour against the collecting of
any plant material.
We must be very careful not to harm wild population, but we can't pretend
not to have any interaction with them!
The collection of a few wildflowers, for example, if they aren't endangered
at all, is nothing bad.
I can't agree completely also with the idea that plant species already in
cultivation must not be collected again: for someone it could be interesting
observing and studying plants from a given location which may be slightly
different from plants coming from another one (e.g. I think it is very
different growing D. rotundifolia coming from N. America or from Europe, or
even plants from Italy or from France).
About endangered plants, the attention to pay not to harm wild populations
should be higher; however, even for the rarest plants, there are methods of
collection which are very respectful of them.
The pillage of many plants is surely a damage; the same could be the
collection of a single plant in a small population (but consider: how many
plants are smashed by people while trying to get some good pictures for
their photo albums?).
>From a single leaf of many species several plants can be obtained. And the
loss of a leaf is usually well tolerated by healthy plants, allowing it to
enter into cultivation and to continue growing in the wild.
Another method is the collection of seed: plants usually produce many seeds
which are intended to be dispersed anywhere, hoping they'll reach a place
suitable for germination and growth.
The large majority of these seeds, however, fall in places where they'll not
germinate.
When they germinate they usually still have very few chances to reach
maturity and seldom the best plants do it: just the luckiest ones.
Often the ground where they try to grow is already overpopulated by other CPs.
In some cases even none of the many seeds succeeds in generating new plants.
So, in my opinion, the collection of a moderate amount of seed is not a
damage to the population.
And very few seeds are needed to estabilish a plant in cultivation: from a
single seed of D. intermedia in a few years you could fill an entire bog!
Wild collection should be done, of course, only if the collector has
concrete chances of keeping the species alive: you could collect thousands
specimens of D. intermedia, plant them in the wrong environment, and loose
all of them in a few weeks!
These are just my reflections, but I think they are not completely
insensate; what do you think about?
Good growing to everybody!
Filippo Tassara
Genoa, Italy
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