The gathering and selling of early spring flowers included in the Red Book of the Republic of Moldova are illegal. The persons who do this face a fine of 2,500 to 5,000 lei, IPN reports.

According to the Environment Agency, many ambulatory vendors started already to sell bunches of early spring flowers by the roadside, close to forests. But many of these flowers can be found in the Red Book.

The snowdrops and other types of early spring flowers, such as crocuses, tulips, pasqueflowers, cornflowers and lilies of the valley, are protected in the Republic of Moldova. As these flowers, including their bulbs, are picked up at an accelerated pace, the number of such plants decreases annually. The persons are urged to avoid buying them.