Differentiating wild-collected and artificially-propagated

plants

Developed by the CITES Secretariat

GreenCustoms Knowledge Series No. 8

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Questions to answer

• Why do we need to tell the difference between wild-collected and artificially propagated plants?

• What are the characteristics to look for?

• What are the characteristics to look for in orchids?

• What are the characteristics to look for in cacti?

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Introduction

• Over 28,000 species of plants are included in the CITES Appendices, and plants are commonly traded

• There are only two source codes for trade in CITES-listed plants

• ‘A’ (or ‘D’) for artificially propagated plants, and

• ‘W’ for wild-collected plants or those that do not fulfill the criteria for artificial propagation

• The conditions for permitting trade for each of these categories are different, and consequently people may try to trade wild-collected plants claiming that these are artificially propagated.

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Introduction

• Being able to recognize the differences between these two categories is therefore important

• False claims may include the following reasons:

– Wild-collected plants shipped as artificially propagated, in particular from countries that prohibit the export of wild-collected plants

– Wild specimens of species that do not occur in a particular country are exported from it because the actual range state does not permit their export

– Specimens of Appendix-I species, though artificially propagated, are traded under false names so that the trader can use the simplified procedures for artificially propagated Appendix-II specimens

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Introduction

• When evaluating the differences between wild-collected specimens and artificially propagated ones, one has to consider to what conditions each are exposed under their normal growing circumstances

• Under wild conditions, animals may eat them, insects may profit from them, other plants may grow on them, etc.

• Plants do not face such threats under controlled conditions in a nursery

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Introduction

• The key to being able to tell the difference between a plant likely taken from the wild and one grown under controlled conditions centers on understanding the impact the growing environment has on the plant

• This in turn may have a significant impact on the appearance of the plant

• Physical evidence of harvesting may also be a key clue as to the origin of the specimen

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Wild versus artificial propagation

• The following slides provide tips and tricks for interpreting the origins of specimens of:

– Orchids

– Cacti

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Orchids

• All orchids are included in either Appendix II or Appendix I of CITES

• Some of the most sought after orchids are listed in Appendix I (including the very popular slipper orchids Paphiopedilum spp. of Asia and Phragmipedium spp. of South America)

Paphiopedilum sanderianum

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Orchids

• Orchids can be found in all parts of the world, with the exception of the Arctic and Antarctica, but are most common in the tropics

• The family of the Orchidaceae consist of some 800 genera and some 24,500 species

Phalaenopsis equestrisPhalaenopsis equestris

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Orchids

• Most orchids are epiphytes, which means that they grow on branches or stems of trees (like this species of Schomburgkia), or on rocks and other substrates

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Orchids

• In the temperate zones orchids are mainly terrestrial

.

Orchis maculata Gymnadenia conopsea

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Orchids

• No one can recognize all orchid species, and especially not in the way they are frequently traded, namely without flowers

• Identification is best carried out by plant experts

• However, being able to tell the differences between wild-collected and artificially propagated orchid specimens may help identify attempts at fraud or illegal trade

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Orchids

Caution

• The various characteristics mentioned here may, occasionally be observed on artificially propagated plants

• One should therefore look for a combination of characteristics before being reasonably certain about a plant's origins

• In case of doubt call in an expert

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Orchids

• The orchid plant parts that need particular scrutiny are:

– the roots

– the leaves

– the pseudobulbs

roots

pseudobulbs

leaves

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Orchids

• Orchid roots are fleshy structures, covered by a skin (velamen) that is frequently silvery white, and normally have a green or white tip

• The roots of epiphytic orchids largely serve to hold the plant on branches and stems of trees or on rocky surfaces, and absorbing moisture

• However, orchids collected from the wild must travel from the collector to the exporter, often via middlemen, and during this period of handling, the roots may partly or wholly die off

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Orchids

• Only the tip of the root serves to absorb water, either from moisture in the air or from water flowing along the substrate on which it is ‘sitting’

• When the root dies, the fleshy outside layer quickly withers into a brown powdery substance, and only the tough woody cells of the central vascular bundle of the root are left

• In contrast, roots of artificially propagated plants are always healthy

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Orchids

• Roots grow according to the substrate or where the plant has grown

• Plants taken from the wild will have their roots cut or torn from the growing substrate

– for example, an orchid growing on a branch will have roots that will follow the shape of the branch, and an orchid growing around rocks will have roots that follow the shape of the rocks

• By comparison, an orchid grown under controlled conditions will have full, healthy, uncut roots that will reflect the shape of the pot it was growing in

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ROOTS

Orchids

Wild-collected Paphiopedilum with dead roots

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Orchids

• Orchids, such as this Dendrobium, are often so strongly attached to the substrate they are growing on that the bark remains attached to the roots when the plant is torn loose

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Orchids

• Ceratostylis spp.: orchid rhizome, covered with fern roots

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Orchids

• During transport from the natural sites in the forest, the leaves of collected orchid plants are often crushed, torn or bent

• During storage prior to shipment, plants lose water and the leaves become less turgid or crack along the midrib, or groups of cells may collapse

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Orchids

Leaf damage: collapsed surface cells

cracked midrib

collapsed cells

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Orchids

Wild-collected Paphiopedilum with collapsed surface cells and damaged midrib

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• One of the most telltale signs that a plant is collected from the wild is the influence of insects or small mammals on the leaves

– Mining furrows by burrowing insects

– Irregular damaged leaf margins or holes in the leaf, caused by chewing

– Discoloration caused by mites, scales or mealy bugs

• In combination, damaged roots and damaged leaves are strong indicators of wild-collected plants

Orchids

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Orchids

• Wild-collected specimens of Paphiopedilum with dead roots and heavily damaged leaves

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Orchids

• Wild-collected Paphiopedilum with damaged leaves and dead roots

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Orchids

Orchid leaf damage - also note the presence of lichens

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Orchids

• A Dendrobium plant with many dead pseudobulbs still attached to it

• Note the leaf damage, 'parallel' shaped root system, and a large hole in an old pseudobulb

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1

3

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Orchids

• Artificially propagated orchid plants with healthy leaves, and roots still showing the shape of the pot they grew in

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Orchids

Bulbophyllum spp, wild-collected and further grown in a nursery

Note the difference in size and shape between ‘wild’ leaves (1) and those grown in the nursery (2)

1

2

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Orchids

Vanda spp.

A wild-collected plant can grow in a nursery for several years

Note the difference in size and shape of leaves between the part that grew in the wild (1), and the part that grew in the nursery (2)

2

1

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OrchidsOrchids

Constantia cipoensis

Wild grown

Nursery grown

Nursery grown grown leaves are usually larger

Note: Only the nursery-grown parts are considered 'artificially propagated'

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Orchids

Paphiopedilum spp.

Wild characteristics remain, even if the plants have been grown in a nursery

(Courtesy Environment Canada)

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Orchids

Paphiopedilum spp.

Wild characteristics remain, even if the plants have been grown in a nursery

(Courtesy Environment Canada)

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Cacti and other succulents

• Succulents are plants that have adapted themselves to very arid conditions

• They have developed special mechanisms to store water, such as fleshy roots, barrel-shaped bodies, and thick leaves, and mechanisms to avoid water loss through perspiration, by having no leaves or few small leaves, a large part of the plant being underground, and having a thick waxy covering

• For succulents therefore the main factors determining their ‘life’ are water, sun and predators

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Cacti

• To reach scarce water, cacti have very large root systems that cover a large surface area, or have roots that reach deep underground

Cacti growing in rocky or hard substrates frequently

develop tap roots

A large superficial root system is developed in gravelly or sandy soils

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Cacti

• But a cactus, or any other plant, cannot choose its growing place, and it has to grow where the seed falls

• This also has an impact on the shape of the root system

Melocactus

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Cacti

• But a cactus, or any other plant, cannot choose its growing place, and it has to grow where the seed falls

• This also has an impact on the shape of the root system

• Note how the shape of these Aztekium ritteri are affected by where they grow

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Cacti

• To protection themselves against the sun, cacti may have:

– Part or most of the plant body underground

– A thick, waxy cuticle to protect against dehydration)

– Long spines that can provide shade

– Narrow and relatively high ribs, which can also provide shade

– formation of a cork layer, where sunlight 'burns' the plant

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Cacti

• A cactus grown in controlled conditions would have no need for protection measures, and would therefore appear quite different:

– Very little of the plant body is underground

– A thinner cuticle (as water is available)

– Fewer and shorter spines

– Thicker and shallower ribs

– Absence of a cork layer

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Cacti

• The underground part of this wild-collected cactus plant shows the following characteristics:

– Spines no longer present

– The plant body has become corky (no longer greenish) and is subterraneous

– An angled or irregular ‘surface line’, showing this plant grew on uneven ground

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Cacti

Short spine length

wild

Thin cuticle (darker color)

Artificially propagated

Wide rib Long spine lengthNarrow rib

Thick cuticle (lighter color)

Note the differences between this wild cactus and a artificially propagated specimen

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Cacti

• Most cacti cannot be collected from the wild with their entire root system

• To help determine if a cactus is taken from the wild, another clue is to look at the condition of the root system

– A cut or incomplete root system is a strong indication that the plant may have been collected from the wild

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Cacti

• In this box of confiscated Frailea spp. cacti, we can see cut roots and large parts of the plant are brown and corky, suggesting the plants were taken from the wild

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Note the corky lower parts of the plant (1) and the lack of roots (2), suggesting this plant has been taken from the wild

This plant is probably more than 100 years old

Cacti

Copiapoa spp.

1

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Cacti

• Note the tap root of this Lophophora williamsii is cut, and most of the plant has grown below ground, therefore showing signs of having been collected from the wild

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Cacti

Two specimens of Uebelmannia showing clear characteristics of wild-origin plants

Note that the plant on the left has been grown in a nursery for some time, and has grown a small clump of roots

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Cacti

• Note the wasp nests on this wild-collected Copiapoa spp.

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Cacti

Wild-collected Turbinicarpus spp.

Note the corky tissue and the cut roots

Wild-collected Obregonia denegri

Note the corky tissue and the right-angled cut roots

This shape would be caused by natural obstructions in the soil

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Cacti

• Examples from two nurseries

– The plants on the left have no root systems, indicating they were likely collected in the wild

– The plants on the right demonstrate normal roots

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Cacti

Wild-collected plants, grown for a time under controlled conditions

Note the difference in body colour and spine size and color between the parts grown under wild conditions and those grown under controlled conditions

Astrophytum spp

Uebelmannia spp

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Cacti

• Artificially propagated cacti, with well developed root systems, no corky parts (because there was no reason to retract into the soil), and a healthy dark green plant body (thin cuticle)

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Cacti

However… Caution is required when trying to determine if a plant has been taken from the wild

This plant has been artificially propagated, though it appears to show some features suggesting otherwise

Turbinicarpus schmiedickianus

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Summary

• Being able to differentiate between wild-collected and artificially propagated plants is important because the CITES provisions for both may be very different

• As plants are influenced by the conditions under which they grow, plants grown under controlled conditions (light, water, nourishment, protection from predators) will have a different shape and appearance than plants subject to harsh climatic conditions, competition over food and water, and attack from predators

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Summary

• Plants collected from the wild may also exhibit a series of attributes that should not be present in artificially propagated plants, such as cut and damaged leaves and cut root systems

• Plants taken from the wild and grown for a time under controlled conditions may exhibit characteristics influenced by both environments

• There may be reasons why artificially propagated plants may exhibit damage, so caution is required when making your determination

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CITES SecretariatGeneva

www.cites.org