About a year ago, there was a big to-do regarding the theft of a rare, endangered conifer from our local arboretum. Not sure how 'infamous' this might be, but it did cause quite a flap locally. Students from the adjacent UofW looking for a cheap Christmas tree are suspected as the culprits, but that is just a suspicion.

Here is a link that might be useful: Theft of rare conifer

I just approved the cost of replacing one of our neighborhood trees that some loser recently cut for their loser Christmas tree, but the one that comes to mind is the string of thefts of Japanese maples in the 90s in Sacramento.

Gardengal, I've been to the Arb many times (esp when the witch hazel and erica are in bloom) but don't recall those trees at all...

Dan

In the late 80's I recall hearing about a wave of Black Walnut rustling in the mid west. The figure of $10000 per mature tree sticks in my memory.

Wasn't there a recent issue with a Hawthorn somewhere? It was a treasured relic, I thought.

I worry about my norway spruces a little beforeb Christmas, we get mailbox bashers in the summer so it wouldn't be a far stretch.These trees are just the right size.

Specimens of Wollemia nobilis used to be "rustled," and in some cases cages had to be built around them to ward off thieves.

Personally, I had a containerized Acer pseudosieboldianum stolen--a shipment of about two dozen trees came in and they were stored on a lot for a couple of days awaiting spring planting. The maple was the nicest-looking tree of the bunch.

Interesting to hear the first hand account.

Gardengal, I think I have seen that story before. Possibly the most individually damaging from an ecological point.

Walnut timber thievery.... sounds like cattle russling. Even getting the trees from ten foot over the property line for a quarter mile stretch and thats some money.

I don't know if it counts as a theft exactly, but there was the case of the golden spruce which was cut down by a disgrundled lumberjack. Here is the story on Wiki.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiidk'yaas

esh_ga - that was the Glastonbury Thorn. Not so much stolen as vandalised. I have tried to find out what is happening with it now but haven't found any news. I am pretty sure it will regrow, as it was not cut right down. More or less involuntarily pollarded.

Here is a link that might be useful: Glastonbury Thorn

Dan, they (there were two) are rather scruffy looking things and not all that impressive so I don't doubt they could be overlooked :-) Still, a pity as they are not at all common.

I'd guess that tree (and plants in general) thefts are not all that uncommon.......seems like it is a cultural phenomenon that certain folks feel an entitlement to whatever they want regardless of ownership and simply take it if they can. I know of several local gardening friends and design clients who have had plants stolen from their gardens. At a former nursery I worked at, we had several large containerized J. maples 'highjacked', despite an 8' tall chainlink fence around the property. And we watched - unable to respond in time - as a pickup stopped at the light at the intersection had the passenger jump out and rip up several large shrubs from the display beds outside the property.

Phipps, Hawthorns and Medlars (2003, Timber Press, Portland/Cambridge) says there are "several" Cratagus monogyna 'Biflora' at Glastonbury.

Yes, cuttings have been taken over the years, so there are clones about. It's just the main tree which was damaged. And even that was planted in the 50s to replace an earlier one which got destroyed.

I think the biggest tree theft of all is illegal logging and the removal of mature tropical hard woods for timber.

bboy, do you find that book useful as a reference or does it have good keys or pictures? The title always caught my attention - I had never heard the term "medlars".

Maybe Flora has the right idea about infamous tree thefts - we were focused on the built environment. The Mau come immediately to mind.

Dan

There are some nice pictures. A botanical paper was supposed to follow. The book comes across as one of those written by a botanist in an attempt to reach a garden audience that does not really have the same point of view.

Just saw this roll across the news. Appears a Mother's Day theft has occurred!

Here is a link that might be useful: Stolen Banana Trees

And I'll bet the crooks peeled away so they could give the slip to anyone watching.

tj