CNPS San Diego June Chapter Meeting: Native Plant Poaching

Native Plant Poaching

Presenters: Rose Ramirez & Kevin Alison

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Casa del Prado Rm 101, Balboa Park

6 p.m.: Browsing and socializing

7 p.m.: Presentation begins

Attendance is free and open to all

View the award winning film “Saging the World” at the meeting. Sage smudging with white sage (Salvia apiana) has become a viral trend. Metric tons of white sage have been poached to supply an international demand. This species is deeply rooted in the cultures and lifeways of the Indigenous communities of Southern California and northern Baja California, the only region where white sage naturally grows.

Kevin Alison will discuss poaching of Dudleya species and efforts being taken to protect the plants and prevent their removal from the wild. Dudleya species (liveforevers) have been poached from mainland California and from Santa Catalina Island. Poachers have been caught stealing thousands of plants, shipping them internationally, and selling them as trendy houseplants for top dollar. Investigators now estimate that poachers have stolen several hundreds of thousands of Dudleya plants from California. In 2021 Governor Newsom signed the CNPS-sponsored AB 223 into law, providing important protection for California’s Dudleya species.

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