Subject: Is it illegal to pick wild flowers? Date: 1999/05/23 Author: yong321 I heard that it's illegal to pick wild flowers, or at least bluebonnet in Texas. One day a newspaper People's Lawyer column said he [the lawyer] never heard of such law. Can anyone comment? Thanks. Yong Email:yong321@yahoo.com Subject: Re: Is it illegal to pick wild flowers? Date: 1999/05/23 Author: Frank In article <7i88sb$pid$1@nnrp1.deja.com>, yong321@yahoo.com wrote: > I heard that it's illegal to pick wild flowers, or at least bluebonnet > in Texas. One day a newspaper People's Lawyer column said he [the > lawyer] never heard of such law. Can anyone comment? Thanks. Interesting. I'd assumed the same. But in a quick search of Texas law (not using the best search engine), I couldn't find a specific mention of the bluebonnet except as the state song. It could be listed under another name (the scientific name perhaps), or as part of a general prohibition of picking anything on state property. The above is not legal advice, for legal advice see an attorney. Frank Subject: Re: Is it illegal to pick wild flowers? Date: 1999/05/24 Author: yong321 I assume you mean you agree with that People's Lawyer in newspaper. Another response to my post was, it's illegal to pick any flowers not belonging to me. Do wild flowers belong to the state? I thought they belonged to Mother Nature. What about some mud on the roadside? Or a wild flower somehow blown off of its stem and into my house and then I keep it? I'm not sarcastic. It's interesting to talk about these legal issues. Yong > Interesting. I'd assumed the same. But in a quick search of Texas > law (not using the best search engine), I couldn't find a specific mention of > the bluebonnet except as the state song. > > It could be listed under another name (the scientific name perhaps), or as > part of a general prohibition of picking anything on state property. > > The above is not legal advice, for legal advice see an attorney. > > Frank Subject: Re: Is it illegal to pick wild flowers? Date: 1999/05/23 Author: - P Peterson Well it would be illegal to pick any flowers, or anything else for that matter, from land YOU do not own, it's called stealing ... Subject: Re: Is it illegal to pick wild flowers? Date: 1999/05/24 Author: Dan Evans On Mon, 24 May 1999 15:16:12 GMT, yong321@yahoo.com wrote: >Another response to my post was, it's illegal to pick any flowers not >belonging to me. Do wild flowers belong to the state? At common law, wild animals belonged to no one until shot or captured. Modern laws regulating hunting are based on the power of the states to provide for the safety of residents and the general welfare by protecting and regulating limited resources. Plants, whether trees, crops, or wildflowers, are attached to land and belong to the owner of the land. If the state owns the land, then the plants belong to the land. If a private person owns the land, then the plants belong to the person. There are also statutes and regulations protecting engangered species, including plants, so it may be illegal to pick certain species of plants even on your own property. >I thought they >belonged to Mother Nature. Her title is only a future remainder interest, held jointly with Mother Goose and the Good Witch of the South. >What about some mud on the roadside? It's not as pretty as the flowers. >Or a >wild flower somehow blown off of its stem and into my house and then I >keep it? Yes, because you committed no trespass. The plant severed itself from the land and came onto your property. In a similar manner, you can't pick apples from your neighbor's apple tree, even though the branches hang over onto your side of the fence, but you can collect and keep the apples that fall to the ground on your side of the fence. *Dan Evans *The above general information is provided *"as is" and carries no warranty of fitness *for any particular factual situation. Subject: none Date: 1999/05/26 Author: Anonymous As to the original question, I was certainly told as a child that it was against Texas state law to pick wild flowers (specifically including, but not limited to, bluebonnets), but I also could find no such statute, except to say that you can't pick them from state lands for commercial purposes.