Ep. 562 - Life After Poaching

In Defense of Plants Podcast

In Defense of Plants

Natural Sciences, Ecology, Nature, Plants, Botany, Science

4.8 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 25 January 2026

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Plant poaching is a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide and it doesn't get the attention it deserves. While the act of poaching plants from the wild ravages species and ecosystems alike, what happens to plants after the poachers have been caught? That is exactly what we are talking about in this episode. Director of Horticulture for the San Diego Zoo Safari Park Raj Brown joins us to explore how they ensure that poached cycads, cacti, and other succulents can continue to contribute to plant conservation and education efforts. This episode was produced in part by Neil, Matthew, April, Dana, Lilith, Sanza, Eva, Yellowroot, Wisewren, Nadia, Heidi, Blake, Josh, Laure, R.J., Carly, Lucia, Dana, Sarah, Lauren, Strych Mind, Linda, Sylvan, Austin, Sarah, Ethan, Elle, Steve, Cassie, Chuck, Aaron, Gillian, Abi, Rich, Shad, Maddie, Owen, Linda, Alana, Sigma, Max, Richard, Maia, Rens, David, Robert, Thomas, Valerie, Joan, Mohsin Kazmi Photography, Cathy, Simon, Nick, Paul, Charis, EJ, Laura, Sung, NOK, Stephen, Heidi, Kristin, Luke, Sea, Shannon, Thomas, Will, Jamie, Waverly, Brent, Tanner, Rick, Kazys, Dorothy, Katherine, Emily, Theo, Nichole, Paul, Karen, Randi, Caelan, Tom, Don, Susan, Corbin, Keena, Robin, Peter, Whitney, Kenned, Margaret, Daniel, Karen, David, Earl, Jocelyn, Gary, Krysta, Elizabeth, Southern California Carnivorous Plant Enthusiasts, Pattypollinators, Peter, Judson, Ella, Alex, Dan, Pamela, Peter, Andrea, Nathan, Karyn, Michelle, Jillian, Chellie, Linda, Laura, Miz Holly, Christie, Carlos, Paleo Fern, Levi, Sylvia, Lanny, Ben, Lily, Craig, Sarah, Lor, Monika, Brandon, Jeremy, Suzanne, Kristina, Christine, Silas, Michael, Aristia, Felicidad, Lauren, Danielle, Allie, Jeffrey, Amanda, Tommy, Marcel, C Leigh, Karma, Shelby, Christopher, Alvin, Arek, Chellie, Dani, Paul, Dani, Tara, Elly, Colleen, Natalie, Nathan, Ario, Laura, Cari, Margaret, Mary, Connor, Nathan, Jan, Jerome, Brian, Azomonas, Ellie, University Greens, Joseph, Melody, Patricia, Matthew, Garrett, John, Ashley, Cathrine, Melvin, OrangeJulian, Porter, Jules, Griff, Joan, Megan, Marabeth, Les, Ali, Southside Plants, Keiko, Robert, Bryce, Wilma, Amanda, Helen, Mikey, Michelle, German, Joerg, Cathy, Tate, Steve, Kae, Carole, Mr. Keith Santner, Lynn, Aaron, Sara, Kenned, Brett, Jocelyn, Ethan, Sheryl, Runaway Goldfish, Ryan, Chris, Alana, Rachel, Joanna, Lori, Paul, Griff, Matthew, Bobby, Vaibhav, Steven, Joseph, Brandon, Liam, Hall, Jared, Brandon, Christina, Carly, Kazys, Stephen, Katherine, Manny, doeg, Daniel, Tim, Philip, Tim, Lisa, Brodie, Bendix, Irene, holly, Sara, and Margie.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Conversations like you're about to hear do not happen unless you support In Defensive Plants.
0:04.0	And now more than ever, we need conversations like this to reach as many ears as possible.
0:09.0	One of the best ways to help keep In Defensive Plants up and running is to become a patron over at patreon.com slash In Defensive Plants.
0:16.0	In return for a tiny bit of support each month, you will get access to a completely separate podcasts.
0:21.0	It explores a lot of really fun gardening topics, everything from seed collection and storage
0:25.2	to growing native plants, the struggles of trying to garden in different climates, and so much
0:30.2	more. It's a heck of a lot of fun. We're learning so much, and we're trying to share that with you.
0:34.5	So come on and join the Patreon over at patreon.com slash indefensive plants and help keep this show up and running in the process. I hope to see you over there. But in the meantime, on with the show. Hello everyone and welcome to the Indefensive Plants podcast, the official podcast of Ineventiveplants.com. What's up? This is your host, Matt. Welcome to the show. How is everyone doing this week? This is an episode you're going to want to pay attention to. Plant poaching is a serious risk to not only plant species themselves, but also the ecosystems they comprise. It's a multi-billion dollar industry globally and doesn't get nearly enough of the attention that it deserves. But what happens to plants once they're seized at the borders?
1:15.0	Joining us to talk about this is Raj Brown. He's the director of horticulture at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and they're doing incredible things to not only help with the plant
1:19.3	poaching issue, but ensure that plant conservation continues even in these unfortunate circumstances.
1:25.0	This is a fascinating discussion that looks at the big picture of the process
1:28.3	of what happens after justice has been served. So I don't want to keep you from it any longer.
1:33.1	Let's just jump right into it without further ado. Here's my conversation with Raj Brown. I hope you
1:37.1	enjoy. All right, Raj Brown, welcome to the podcast. It is so great to have you here. I can't wait to pick your brain a little bit. But first, let's start with an introduction. Tell everyone a little bit about who you are and what it is you do.
2:02.2	Thank you.
2:03.1	Yeah, excited to be here.
2:04.4	Thank you for having me, Matt.
2:06.4	Listen to the podcast.
2:07.7	So excited to be a part of it.
2:09.6	Right on.
2:10.7	My name is Raj Brown.
2:13.4	I am the director of horticulture at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, which is located in the
	...

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