CITES II and Galanthus
Judy Glattstein (Sat, 22 Dec 2007 05:55:04 PST)

A decade or two ago I was lecturing / visiting in England. A friend
there offered me some Galanthus cultivars. Since Galanthus is on CITES
Appendix II, I telephoned John Arcery at the Kennedy Airport APHIS
inspection station to explain the situation. I suggested that my friend
and I would go to a notary in said friend's town and testify to the fact
that these were A) cultivars and B) propagated, not wild collected
(though how one could wild-collect cultivars in the first place . . .)
After all, I already had a general import permit that included
Amaryllidaceae (I'd gone for plant families when applying for the
permit, why be niggardly and restrict to genus, let alone a specific
species.)

Not possible, said John. I would need government level export and import
documents.

What would happen if I brought them in without said documentation on
both sides?

I was sternly informed that the bulbs would be confiscated and sent to
the nearest approved educational institution. Which, in this instance,
would be the New York Botanical Garden. Where I was then and am now an
instructor. I thought about this for a bit, but decided that was getting
complicated.

Galanthus bulbs do look very much like those of Narcissus bulbocodium . . .

Judy in New Jersey, where gray skies and patchy iced-over snow look
gloomy rather than festive