Living: Prickly but Imperiled Species

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The 2,000 species of cactus,* all of which are natives of the Western Hemisphere, have been coveted by European collectors since 1777, when a Spanish botanical expedition brought back specimens from Peru. The Germans, Japanese and Americans are considered the most avid—and ruthless—collectors. In March 1979, a group of West Germans returning from a "botanical study" tour of Mexico were found to have 6,000 cactus specimens—many belonging to a dozen threatened species.

The 1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), ratified by the U.S. and 66 other nations (but not Mexico), has not helped much in reducing the depredations. Though the treaty's aim was to regulate the trade in rare and protected species, few signatory nations have customs officers with sufficient botanical knowledge to distinguish saguaro from sassafras. One solution would be stronger enforcement of existing laws that prohibit removal, transportation and sale of imperiled plants. But conservationists face a prickly task in persuading lawmakers to vote funds to save the cactus, which cannot compare in political sex appeal with such threatened creatures as the whooping crane and the blue whale. —By Michael Demarest. Reported by Robert C. Wurmstedt/Lajitas