For the past few years, officials at the Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky have received complaints and discovered the girdled remains of slippery elm trees (Ulmus rubra, Ulmaceae syn. U. fulva) illegally stripped of their bark by poachers selling to the herbal market (B. Bishop, oral communication, January 23, 2007). Such thieves are elusive, but US Forest Service officers were able to apprehend several offenders in the summer of 2006.1 Forest officials are working diligently to prevent further stripping of slippery elms, which appear to be joining the ranks of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius, Araliaceae) root, goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis, Ranunculaceae) root, and other medicinal plants as common victims of illegal harvesting.
展开▼
