Open Letter to the Rare Plant Community One Time
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OPEN LETTER TO THE RARE PLANT COMMUNITY ONE TIME AMNESTY IF YOU BOUGHT ONE OF OUR STOLEN CYCADS YOU ALSO COULD BE A VICTIM WE WANT TO HELP YOU ACQUIRE CLEAR TITLE TO YOUR PLANT As you may know, our nursery experienced a series of rare cycad thefts. Most of these were very rare species we had imported over the years. The thief (sometimes using the alias Jason Green) and a number of plant sellers to whom he sold these plants at steep discounts, sold these plants to collectors over the last few years. If you bought a rare cycad at a price lower than the prices generally offered for these very rare species, there is a real possibility you were sold a plant stolen from our nursery. For example, one cycad nursery bought these plants for nearly two years under the following dubious conditions: For cash At night At 25-30 cents on the dollar From a seller they hadn’t previously known Off a rented U-Haul truck Without any of the Federally Required Origin information Sellers of endangered species like cycads are required to maintain documentation of provenance, and on imported plants, all CITES permit data. A reputable supplier should be able to provide you this information when you purchase a plant. If the supplier is unable or unwilling to provide this, there is a reasonable chance the plant was stolen or not legally imported. The legal process to address these thefts is now underway. LAPD undertook an investigation, made an arrest, and our nursery is beginning legal action against those who have profited from dealing in stolen property. California law (Penal Code Section 496) allows anyone injured by the sale of knowingly stolen property (like our nursery) to bring a civil action against the seller, or a person who receives stolen property, for up to three times the amount of actual damages, costs of suit, and reasonable attorney's fees. If you have purchased one of the following species from a supplier in Southern California over the past 2 years, I would ask that you please contact us so we can verify the source of your plant(s). We want to work with you, and we don’t want you to be at risk, in the event that you may have purchased a stolen plant. These are the plant species that you should document if you bought them in the last 2 years Encephalartos cupidus Encephalartos trispinosus Encephalartos nubimontanus Encephalartos munchii Encephalartos horridus Encephalartos caffer Encephalartos horridus Dwarf Form Encephalartos longifolius Encephalartos arenarius Encephalartos longifolius “Blue Form” Encephalartos arenarius Blue Form Encephalartos friderici guilielmi Encephalartos arenarius Blue Leaf Other rare Encephalartos sp. Encephalartos arenarius x horridus We are offering an “amnesty period” for anyone who believes they have, or who knows of the existence of a plant that may have been stolen from our nursery. We will be happy to work something out with you that will be fair, so that you have clear title to your plant without paying more than fair value in total for it, and so that the sale of stolen property is not a total loss to you or to us. We will also provide you with documentation that passes clear legal title to you for the plant. We want this to work for you. Back in July, we asked people what we want our roles to be in the rare plant world, and whether the low discount price we may be offered for a rare plant of questionable origin is worth it. I ask again, if we support thieves, through action or inaction, whose fence will they jump over next? Whose garden will they visit uninvited to take what we've nurtured? While the Jurassic Garden nursery now becomes a veritable “sound and light” surveillance show for nighttime visitors, is this what every cycad collector will need to do in the future? Whether you're a hobbyist, a collector, a simple home gardener or a nursery owner, you’re a member of a special community that appreciates rare plants and nurtures them. Please help ensure that plant theft does not become one of the pillars on which our community is based, and help ensure its future survival by working with us to resolve this situation and put it behind all of us. Please contact us privately at [email protected] if you have any information, questions or feedback. Sincerely, Maurice Levin Jurassic Garden -- A&A Cycads Email: maurice@... Website: http://www.cycads.com/ 11801 Stagg Street North Hollywood, CA 91605 Phone: (818) 759-0600 Fax: (818) 301-0309 .