"What a bunch of flowers" and the protection of wild flora

Rules on Plant Collection

Many people still enjoy bringing home a bouquet of flowers after a walk outdoors. There's even a song about it! But...

In the Parks of the Cozie Alps, as in all protected areas of Piedmont, this is a prohibited behavior. Regional Law 19/2009 on "The Protection of Natural Areas and Biodiversity" is clear in Article 8, paragraph 3, which states, “In protected areas established and classified as natural parks and nature reserves, the following prohibitions apply: j) collecting and damaging plant species, except for agro-forestry-pastoral activities and the collection of commonly consumed edible species.”

The rule – explains Debora Barolin, a Park Ranger of the Avigliana Lakes Natural Park – is valid in the natural parks Orsiera Rocciavré and Avigliana Lakes, as well as in the nature reserves of the Chianocco and Foresto gorges. It does not apply, however, in the Gran Bosco di Salbertrand Natural Park, where, according to the Park Authority's regulation, collecting, removing, damaging, or possessing parts of the herbaceous and shrub flora is prohibited, except for normal operations related to agricultural and forestry activities. Similarly, in the Val Troncea Natural Park, where specific regulations prohibit the collection of all wild flora: not by chance, it is also called the Valley of Flowers.

And outside of parks and reserves, for example in the 16 Natura 2000 sites managed by the Cozie Alps Protected Areas, what do the regulations say?

In this case – continues Barolin – the Piedmont Regional Law 32/1982 on the conservation of natural heritage and environmental arrangement classifies spontaneous flora into three categories: those with absolute protection, commonly consumed edible flora, and all the remaining. The first category, listed in an annex to the same law, includes species that cannot be collected at all. This includes, for example, all wild orchids, lilies, tulips, red-flowered primroses, some gentians, bellflowers, and daphnes. Edible species, such as nettle, wild garlic, wild spinach, dandelion, and wild hops or "luvertin" have no collection limits. For all other species, which are the vast majority, one can collect up to 5 specimens per person per day without removing or damaging the roots. The collection of so-called medicinal plants not subject to protection, however, requires authorization from the competent Union of Municipalities.

The Most Beautiful Flower Is the One Not Picked

Giving a flower is the most classic gesture of love, but picking one from its natural context shows a lack of respect for the environment.

Even among plants – explains Elena Regazzoni, a functional manager of the Area Management and Biodiversity Conservation of the Cozie Alps Parks – the reproductive process requires a very high expenditure of energy. Especially in the mountains, where resources are scarcer and environmental conditions harsher, the creation of the reproductive apparatus (the flower) is an extremely complex, delicate, and costly process. If we collect it, we prevent that specific plant from generating seeds and therefore multiplying. We also make it difficult for the surrounding plants by reducing pollination opportunities. This is even more valid for orchids, whose seeds can only germinate when a specific and rare symbiosis, called mycorrhiza, with a fungus is formed.

Additionally – adds Fabio Galliano, also a technician in the Biodiversity Area of the Park Authority – we must remember that certain flowers are an exclusive food source for many insects, in particular certain species of beautiful butterflies that we observe in the most flower-rich meadows. Depleting the flora can have cascade effects on the fauna, on invertebrates, and on microorganisms that all contribute together to maintaining the biodiversity of each ecosystem.

It's not the single act that can impact environmental conservation, but the repetition of many small actions, each seemingly insignificant. In protected areas, visitors are numerous, and they are asked not to collect wild flora because in these territories, humans are guests: one species among many that make up a natural heritage to be protected and appreciated in its delicate beauty.