Taroko National Park has issued a warning against picking plants in the park amid reports that a tourist was on Tuesday seen picking Lycoris aurea, a flowering species native to Taiwan.
The park’s administrator said it has been trying to revive the plant, also known as yellow spider lilies, along the park’s Buluowan Plateau (布洛灣台地) for the past 12 years.
As yellow spider lilies blossom around October and the flowers resemble fireworks, they have earned the nickname “National Day” flowers — a reference to the Republic of China’s (ROC) National Day, which falls on Oct. 10.
Photo: Yu Tai-lang, Taipei Times
Because of the high temperatures this year, the yellow spider lilies have blossomed about a month earlier than normal, attracting huge volumes of visitors to the park.
Taroko National Park secretary-general Lin Chung-pin (林忠彬) said that the yellow spider lily belongs to the Amaryllidaceae family and can grow 30cm to 60cm tall.
It is considered an uncommon plant because of its unique characteristic of not having any leaves when the flower blossoms, he said.
The leaves sprout only after the flower season, he added.
Lin said he received word on Tuesday morning that a visitor was seen picking the flowers, but when park administrators rushed to the site, the alleged offender was gone.
Citing the National Park Act (國家公園法), Lin said that people picking, breaking or damaging plants in national parks may be fined NT$3,000.
He urged park visitors to cherish the plants and not break the law.
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