"Stephen Howard" wrote in message
...

Nor will removing a domestic quantity of bulbs. The law is an
extension of the enclosure acts and game laws, and has little to
do with conservation.

Certainly looks that way, regrettably.

Yes and no. In not allowing people to uproot wild plants we prevent people
doing unneccessary damage. I can think of stands of wild strawberries I've
seen that have been decimated by people digging them up, presumably to take
home for their gardens. But then there are patches of horseradish that seem
to go on forever that wouldn't suffer in the least from some uprooting. It'd
be awfully hard to have a balanced law allowing uprooting of plants in some
scenarios but not others.