Demand for Tiny Plants Is Driving a Poaching Crisis in South Africa

Demand for Tiny Plants Is Driving a Poaching Crisis in South Africa

This story was originally published in Yale Environment 360 and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Tiny plants in plastic pots, each carefully labeled, cram a South African greenhouse. Each is the evidence of at least one crime. These are strange plants without typical stems or leaves. Some look like greenish thumb-tips, others like grapes or rounded stones. Some sprout small, bright flowers. Few are more than an inch tall. …