Online private sale of "national security" plant Xing'an dry branch Rhododendron
Each branch grows at least 4 years and a single branch sells for only 0.8 yuan in the market. Illegal collection and sale will be held criminally responsible
After a few gray branches were soaked in water for a week, the flower buds bloomed and the flowers were colorful... The New Year is just around the corner, and many people may buy some flowers or dry branches for decoration in order to add a festive atmosphere to their homes.
As everyone knows, the so-called Ganzhi Peach and Ganzhimei sold on some online platforms are actually Xing'an Ganzhi Rhododendron from Northeast China - a national second-level key protected plant.
The online price is as low as 8 cents.
In order to curb more and more crazy illegal harvesting, the relevant state departments have listed wild Rhododendron Xing'an as a national second-level key protected plant starting in September 2021.
Popular science writers and plant protection experts are urging consumers to keep their eyes open and not mistakenly buy dried rhododendrons sold in online stores.
Lawyers said that those who illegally collect and sell can be investigated for criminal responsibility if the circumstances are serious.
Network platforms also need to take responsibility for management.
investigation
The "dry branch flowers" sold by the three merchants are all dry branch rhododendrons
"All the dried rhododendrons sold online are cut from the mountains. Don't buy them. The illegal harvesting in recent years has greatly reduced the wild Xing'an Rhododendron resources.
Zhai Mengmeng is a popular science blogger. He constantly spreads relevant plant protection knowledge through online self-media platforms.
According to his tips, reporters from Beijing Youth Daily searched multiple e-commerce platforms for the keyword "Danzhi Rhododendron", but did not find relevant results directly.
However, when searching for words such as "Danzhimeihua" and "Danzhihua", you can see some fake flower names selling real rhododendrons.
Subsequently, the reporter selected a store from each of the three platforms to inquire about the situation, and the prices were all about 1 yuan per stick.
When they learned that they wanted to buy in bulk, the merchant said that they could offer discounts, with the lowest price being reduced to 8 cents a stick.
For the length of time for the flowers to open, the store said that it is 10 to 15 days.
When asked if they could provide actual pictures of flowers, none of the three stores were willing to provide them directly.
When the reporter asked for it again, two of the merchants provided "real photos", and the other directly said "no photos".
When asked about the source of dry branch flowers, all three stores said that they were cultivated by themselves, but none of them were willing to provide pictures of the base.
Dramatically, a reporter from Beiqing Daily directly inquired whether the merchants were selling dried rhododendrons, saying that they wanted to wholesale a large number of dried twigs and flowers to be placed in the store, but they were worried that the crowd would cause trouble, but the attitudes of the three stores were completely different.
The first merchant immediately said: "Don't place an order, you don't need it".
Faced with questioning, the merchant directly replied "don't contact me" and blocked the reporter.
The second store responded with "red plums" and "dried plums" after understanding the concerns raised by the buyers. When the reporter asked whether the "fresh branches of snow willow" that they wanted to photograph was a cuckoo, the merchant admitted that it was a cuckoo, but claimed that it was a cuckoo. "We cultivated it ourselves" and assured reporters that it would not break the law.
In the comments below, most of the customers who have purchased are very satisfied with the products, but they do not realize that they are buying rhododendrons.
Another businessman clearly told reporters that it was selling dried branches and red plums, but many customers in the product comment area reported that "the ones I received are different from the pictures, and the ones sent are dried branches azaleas, not red plums."
When the reporter asked if it could be placed in the store, the store guaranteed "safety. It will not be reported, and it will not break the law."
After the knowledgeable person has identified, the three merchants are all selling dry branch azaleas.
Pirate mining
Illegal collection and sale of wild Xing'an Rhododendron suspected of breaking the law
Every winter, when the Spring Festival is approaching, a kind of dry branch flower, which is said to be able to witness the miracle of withered trees, will sneak up on major online sales platforms.
The merchants have given it many names, such as dry branch azalea, dry branch flower, dry branch flower, dry branch plum blossom, dry branch peach blossom... But they dare not use its real name - Xing'an Rhododendron.
Even on the product detail page, you can't see it as it should be.
You can't see it as it is until you flip to the buyer's comments section.
Before being interviewed by a reporter from Beiqing Daily, popular science blogger Zhai Mengmeng had already introduced the relevant knowledge about the dry branch cuckoo.
Zhai Mengmeng said that the purpose of the business is very obvious, because they are very clear that it is illegal to illegally collect and sell wild Xing'an Rhododendron.
After more than ten years of indiscriminate logging and predatory destruction, the wild Xing'an Rhododendron, which was originally rich in resources in the Greater Xing'an Mountains, has finally exceeded the limit that the species can bear, and its resources have declined sharply.
On September 7, 2021, in the new "List of National Key Protected Wild Plants", wild Rhododendron Xing'an was listed as a second-level national key protected plant.
Zhai Mengmeng said that Rhododendron Xing'an is mainly distributed in high-latitude cold regions such as Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Inner Mongolia, and the annual growth period is only more than three months.
Blooms in May and June, and bears fruit in July, during which new shoots sprout and grow.
By September, flower bud differentiation ends and begins to enter a dormant state.
"Xing'an Rhododendron has to wait 4 to 5 years from seed germination to plant flowering, under the conditions of good manual management." Zhai Mengmeng told the Beiqing Daily reporter that since 2017, the media has paid attention to the theft of Xing'an Rhododendron Regarding the acquisition, the online platform adjusted accordingly and blocked relevant keywords, but some sellers were still quietly selling under the banner of other dry branches.
"If it is really artificially bred, there is no need to hide when selling it."
A few days ago, Zhai Mengmeng saw someone selling two kinds of dry branches at a flower market, one was dry branch snow willow, and the other was immediately recognized as dry branch azalea.
"The sellers of the stalls don't necessarily know about Ganzhi Rhododendron. They say it is a name such as Ganzhi Plum Blossom. After I reported it, the market supervision department intervened in the investigation and the goods were removed from the shelves."
Zhai Mengmeng said that at present, no azaleas in other parts of the country have been found to be sold as dry branches. The artificial breeding costs are high and it is impossible to sell them at extremely low prices.
regulations
Wild Xing'an Rhododendron has been listed as a second-class protected plant
Attorney Jin Jiannan of Beijing Huazhitao Law Firm believes that according to Article 344 of the Criminal Law and the Administrative Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Wild Plants, the former provisions are as follows: "In violation of state regulations, illegal logging and destruction of precious Whoever illegally purchases, transports, processes or sells precious trees or other plants under special state protection and their products shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention or public surveillance, and shall also be fined; if the circumstances are serious shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years, and shall also be fined."
The "other plants under national key protection" in the regulations refer to the species included in the "List of National Key Protection Wild Plants".
Moreover, the "E-commerce Law" clarifies that e-commerce operators shall not sell or provide goods or services that are prohibited by laws and administrative regulations.
According to the above regulations, wild Rhododendron Xing'an is listed as a second-class protected plant by the income of the "National Key Protected Wild Plant List". It is illegal for businesses to illegally collect and sell wild Rhododendron Xing'an, and those with serious circumstances shall bear criminal responsibility; e-commerce platform operators are responsible Review whether the operators on the platform have the subject qualifications and whether the products sold are legal.
For products that are explicitly prohibited from being sold by some countries, if the platform does not block or disconnect the link, it must bear corresponding civil and administrative responsibilities.
Finally, lawyer Jin reminded not to buy wild rhododendrons. If there is no sale, there will be no harm.
This group of articles / this reporter Dong Zhenjie intern Liu Zhaoyuan
Coordinator / Zhang Bin Bailong
RAM
Excessive collection of Rhododendron xing'an leads to rapid population decline
Gu Lei, an associate professor of Capital Normal University and a doctor of botany, introduced in an interview that Rhododendron Xing'an is mainly distributed in Heilongjiang, Jilin, Inner Mongolia and other parts of the country in China, and is also found in Japan, North Korea, Russia, and Mongolia abroad, and is a relatively common species.
Xing'an Rhododendron is a semi-evergreen shrub, that is, it will drop some leaves in winter, but it may not fall completely, some leaves will remain, and the flower buds will bloom in early spring.
Since the flower buds have been conceived before the leaves fall the previous year, there is a phenomenon that the dry branches can bloom after being plucked and soaked in water.
Gu Lei introduced that in recent years, some people hope to rely on Xing'an Rhododendron to make a fortune. Due to the bright colors and popular sales in the market, but the lack of artificial cultivation, it poses a serious threat to the wild population of this plant.
"When we judge whether a species is endangered and whether it needs to be protected, we not only look at the size of its existing population, but also the trend of its population change." Gu Lei said that the Xing'an Rhododendron is obviously due to the rapid decline of the population due to excessive collection. "In order to curb this phenomenon, everyone suggested that it be included in the "National Key Protected Wild Plant List". After the new list is published, the management of collection and trade should be strengthened."
Regarding the fact that some merchants claim to be artificial breeding, Gu Lei believes that even if artificial breeding exists, the scale is very small and cannot reach the level of large-scale supply to the market.
If wild Xing'an Rhododendron can be sold, who would spend money and energy on artificial cultivation?
The breeding of woody flowers will take a long time, and there will be no return in the short term, so the cost will be high.
If you buy a bunch of them for ten or twenty yuan on the Internet platform or in the market, they must all come from the wild without cost.
E-commerce platforms generally block keywords. In fact, it is difficult to prevent merchants who only focus on money and sell for another keyword. "We also call on relevant departments to strengthen the crackdown, so that unscrupulous merchants dare not buy or sell. ."