Source:
ReutersChina's gold-mine wild orchids face extinction2 hours, 31 minutes ago
BEIJING (Reuters) - Where have all the flowers gone?
Over-harvesting fuelled by surging market prices is threatening
to wipe out several species of wild orchids in eastern China,
some of which command as much as $175,000 a pot, state
media reported on Friday.
Chinese horticulturalists warned that the lucrative trade had
taken 10 species native to mountainous areas of Zhejiang
province to the brink of extinction, the China Daily said.
"Excessive harvesting of wild orchids had also led to soil erosion
and consequently affected the environment for other plants and
animals," the paper quoted an official in the province's Xinchang
county as saying.
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