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Status symbol: A cycad at the Royal Botanical Gardens in London. Three of South Africa’s cycad species are extinct in the wild with more than half of the 38 species at risk of extinction. (Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images)
CIVIL SOCIETY OBSERVATORY OF ILLICIT ECONOMIES IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA

Cycads are being ‘loved to death’ in South Africa

The plants are seen as a status symbol by wealthy local and international collectors, which drives the lucrative and well-organised illicit trade

  • Sheree Bega
5 min read