Dropping like flies

November 13, 2015 12:16 PM

"What’s cropped up in rural North Carolina is essentially a Venus Flytrap crime ring — with lackies, middle men, and a mysterious end buyer who’s perpetuating the market.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (28 comments total)

When reached for comment the mysterious buyer released a short statement:

"I'm just a mean green mother from outer space and I'm bad!"
posted by Potomac Avenue at 12:20 PM on November 13, 2015 [3 favorites]

This is one of my favorite episodes of Criminal. Fascinating.
posted by maxsparber at 12:21 PM on November 13, 2015 [4 favorites]

Yes, I was like "WHOA" because 1) there's seemingly just one place in the world Venus Flytraps grow and 2) the criminal ring that's sprung around that fact. Who's going out and digging up the plants and who's the mysterious buyer who's generating the demand?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:28 PM on November 13, 2015 [2 favorites]

The demand is clearly based upon the assholes selling Venus Flytrap Extract as a cure for cancer, which is absolutely infuriating on many levels. I thought the one flaw in that episode was their unquestioning acceptance of the supplement company CEO's claim that he only bought synthesized extract from China and would of course never, ever buy it illegally from people stealing it out of the wild. Bullshit.
posted by something something at 12:33 PM on November 13, 2015 [2 favorites]

who's the mysterious buyer who's generating the demand?

A Bond villain creating some elaborate death gauntlet lined with Venus Flytraps on his volcano island fortress?
posted by Sangermaine at 12:35 PM on November 13, 2015 [1 favorite]

That's a real fly in the ointment.
posted by twidget at 12:43 PM on November 13, 2015

I was fascinated by carnivorous plants (especially the Venus Flytrap) when I was a youngster. They seemed so exotic; surely they came from tropical jungles on another continent. I was shocked to discover that a number of them are found right here in the southeastern US when I was at a church picnic and found the boggy edges of the lake we were at were teeming with sundews. I hope the efforts to keep Venus Flytraps from being poached out of existence in the wild are successful.
posted by TedW at 12:43 PM on November 13, 2015 [6 favorites]

I clicked through thinking that "Venus Flytrap crime ring" would be the name for some new thing like a Ponzi scheme or a bust-out or the like. I am more enthralled by it being an actual Venus Flytrap crime ring.
posted by Etrigan at 12:46 PM on November 13, 2015 [37 favorites]

The demand is clearly based upon the assholes selling Venus Flytrap Extract as a cure for cancer, which is absolutely infuriating on many levels.

I guess that's possible. But if you're selling a BS cure for cancer, why would you tell the truth about what's in it?

In possibly related news, I saw a venus fly trap for sale at my local supermarket, along with some other random plants.

I clicked through thinking that "Venus Flytrap crime ring" would be the name for some new thing like a Ponzi scheme or a bust-out or the like. I am more enthralled by it being an actual Venus Flytrap crime ring.

You're not the only one that jumped to that conclusion. I mean, it makes more sense than a literal venus flytrap crime ring, right?
posted by el io at 12:53 PM on November 13, 2015 [6 favorites]

I have a friend who is one of the worlds leading experts on breeding carnivore plants, and he has been successfully growing them in Texas. Not in the wild, you couldn't just toss one in the backyard and have it thrive, but he's built this amazing swampy type nursery. Point being, there are breeders for this type of plant, there's no reason to hunt them in the wild.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 12:54 PM on November 13, 2015 [5 favorites]

There's a carnivorous plant nursery about half an hour from where I live, and I'm not exaggerating at all when I tell you it's better than Disneyland.
posted by prize bull octorok at 12:57 PM on November 13, 2015 [19 favorites]

Count me down as another person who thought it was a new term for a scam...though I actually then figured out it was probably literal when I noticed it said North Carolina, as my son *just* finished a report that noted VFTs only grow in the Carolina bogs, which I hadn't known.
posted by Four Ds at 12:59 PM on November 13, 2015

In the last few years these started popping up for sale in local grocery stores. I bought one from Kroger a few months back.
posted by Twain Device at 1:02 PM on November 13, 2015

I clicked through thinking that "Venus Flytrap crime ring" would be the name for some new thing like a Ponzi scheme or a bust-out or the like


Venus Flytrap is an innocent man!
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 1:09 PM on November 13, 2015 [1 favorite]

Venus Flytrap is an innocent man!

Venus Flytrap was a deserter.
posted by Etrigan at 1:23 PM on November 13, 2015

I thought it was a metaphor or something.
posted by Artw at 1:26 PM on November 13, 2015

I did a middle school science fair project on carnivorous plants. I looked up the place I mail-ordered them from, and was disappointed to find out that they're probably involved in some of the illegal harvesting.
posted by Ham Snadwich at 1:33 PM on November 13, 2015 [2 favorites]

What I want to know is if there are any carnivorous plants that attract and eat mosquitoes. I could use a few for the back yard.
posted by wierdo at 1:37 PM on November 13, 2015

It's "How's the Bluecadelic Pycho-Raga-Rock Old Folks' Dance Marathon doing?", Alex.
 
posted by Herodios at 2:14 PM on November 13, 2015 [2 favorites]

"They're dropping like flies!"
"Groovy."
posted by valkane at 2:20 PM on November 13, 2015 [3 favorites]

I think *I* might be the mysterious buyer! Or at least, my lady friend gave me a potted Venus flytrap that we're working to raise.. I had no idea they were so rare in the wild, hopefully mine came from a legit source.
posted by FatherDagon at 2:48 PM on November 13, 2015

Venus flytraps have been tissue-cultured (cloned) for a while, so it's pretty easy to get specimens that haven't been poached -- some sellers even go out of their way to mention that their plants are tissue-cultured, since poaching has been more publicized. The problem persists because tissue-culture requires a large initial expense for equipment, and plants take time to grow to sellable size.
posted by Spathe Cadet at 3:11 PM on November 13, 2015

So it's Adam Smith?
posted by sneebler at 5:57 PM on November 13, 2015 [1 favorite]

Thanks for the memories, valkane.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:50 PM on November 13, 2015

At first glance I thought: Lytta vesicatoria?! and got all clicky and panic like.
posted by clavdivs at 9:35 PM on November 13, 2015

"Venus envy"

[First comment in the article.]
posted by caddis at 3:17 AM on November 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

Thanks for the memories, valkane.

You're welcome.
 
posted by Herodios at 4:52 AM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

So this popped up on Mefi friday night.

Saturday, I'm driving to meet up with friends, listening to the podcasts that my wife put on a thumb drive for me a month or so ago.

This podcast was the second one. How about that?
posted by notsnot at 10:22 AM on November 16, 2015