Michael Eason sat at his desk scrolling through cactus listings on eBay. Eason — a botanist in Alpine, Texas — was looking for something called the Ariocarpus fissuratus. Squat, furrowed and fleeced ...

A Texas hiker who stumbles on a once-in-a-lifetime rare cactus in the desert is not just finding a botanical curiosity, but stepping into the middle of a thriving criminal market. In a region where ...

Steve Blackwell, the Conservation Collections Manager, oversees the collection of rare and endangered plants, seed bank, and tissue culture lab.

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. The creamy blossoms of the Key Largo tree cactus. They reflect the moonlight and attract bats that help pollinate the flowers. A ...