There’s an interesting article on California succulents in todays US edition of the Guardian: Stolen succulents: California hipster plants at center of smuggling crisis. The article focuses on “plants of the species Dudleya farinosa being mailed to Korea and China.” On my daily walks, which cover only a small portion of Morro Bay, I probably see hundreds of these plants in front yards. In fact, they are so common that I’m sure the number could easily be stretched to thousands if my walks were more diversified. “Each five-inch plant, with waxy, white-green leaves that grow in bud-like circles, is said to fetch $40 to $50 on the Asian market.” They are being dug up and mailed illegally, which gives these beautiful, quiet plants an entirely new dimension.