United States Department of Agriculture

Cut Flowers and Greenery Import Manual United States Department of Agriculture

The Cut Flowers and Greenery Import Manual provides the background, procedures, and reference tables for regulating the fresh, cut portion of the plant when it is imported for decoration or ornamentation, and for protecting plants threatened with extinction due to trade in those plants or their derivatives. The articles from the countries of origin listed in this manual are regulated because just one destructive pest might be enough to start a pest outbreak that can cause millions of dollars of damage to crops, trees, flowers, or lawns. By their destructiveness, pests can increase the price and reduce the quality of food, lower property values, and ruin recreational areas. The extinction of just one plant species does away with the aesthetic, ecological, educational, historical, recreational, commercial, and scientific value of our world.