Plantwatch: from snowdrops to rare orchids – plant theft is a crime

Some of our favourite wildflowers are threatened by thieves digging up the bulbs, and thieves have made at least one orchid extinct in Britain

Snowdrops are appearing, but in recent years they have become so popular it's led to snowdrop bulbs being stolen from the wild and from gardens to sell on the black market. This is part of a much wider trend. From the theft of snowdrops and bluebells to rare orchids and ferns, stealing plants is a problem that goes largely unreported, but it's a crime that can have disastrous impacts on plant populations.

In Victorian days, a mania for ferns saw huge numbers of the plants stripped from the wild, and the numbers of killarney and woodsia ferns have never recovered. The exquisite lady's slipper orchid was once widely seen across northern England, but collectors wiped it out until only one solitary specimen was left, guarded 24 hours a day when in flower. The summer lady's tresses orchid went extinct in Britain when the last remaining plants were stolen from the New Forest in 1956. Even widespread thefts of native bluebells have a devastating impact.