Grand theft arbor.
In this age of social media, it can be easy to get swept up in the lives of others and feel a pang of jealousy for those who have nicer things. Nevertheless, when it comes time to choose a plant to spruce up your home, it’s important to get one that fits your budget rather than splurging on the kind of high-end greenery all the famous celebrities are flaunting these days.
But for one 26-year-old man in the city of Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, the allure of a really nice little tree in a local home center was, unfortunately, too powerful to resist. In the late afternoon of 7 June, the man was eyeing up a particularly premium potted plant selling for 275,000 yen (US$1,700). Averse to parting with so much money, he instead took a price tag from another item valued at 3,980 yen ($25) and replaced the plant’s one with it.
The plant in question is rather rare, so rare in fact, that it doesn’t even have a normal name and just goes by its scientific one of Operculicarya hyphaenoides in both English and Japanese. They’re native to Madagascar and are related to cashew trees. This type is also known as a caudex because of its fat trunk that stores water. These kinds of plants are quite popular for houseplant enthusiasts, partly because they have a natural bonsai feel to them.
▼ This video gives us a really good look at some.
However, when he attempted to purchase it, the cashier luckily had a keen eye for foliage and suspected something was wrong, refusing the purchase. The store had an incident involving someone swapping price tags the previous month, and was on high alert for it.
The man decided to leave without causing a scene, but the store contacted the police, who reviewed security camera footage. The video contained enough evidence to identify the man and implicate him for the houseplant fraud, resulting in his arrest on 8 June for the most recent incident.
The rareness of this particular plant also seems to have confused the media in Japan, which referred to it as a “cactus,” likely because it was in the cactus section of the home center where it was sold. Naturally, upon reading the news, many people online searched the plant’s name and were further confused by the mislabeling.
“It cost that much, and it doesn’t even look like a cactus?!”
“It looks like a baobab tree.”
“I have no idea what is good about that plant.”
“It’s got a strange shape, but the leaves look cute.”
“Cacti prices have really gone up, haven’t they?”
“They say it’s easy to grow cacti. He should have tried that.”
“That staff member knows the prices well.”
“He probably just wanted to sell it online.”
Police are currently investigating the man’s motive and whether he was involved in any other related crimes. If he did plan to sell it, he would have had a hard time of it. Given the rarity of these plants and the fact that each one tends to have a distinct look, it would have been pretty easy for police to spot it as soon as it appeared online.
So, chances are he just likes plants, but lacked the patience and discipline to save up for one himself. Let that be a lesson to all of us who have heard that devil whisper in our ear, seducing us into committing felonies for really nice houseplants. It’s just not worth it.
Source: TBS New Dig, Itai News
Top image: Pakutaso
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