It’s not even about the money.

The rare bonsai tree that was stolen from David Fukumoto last September was worth thousands of dollars, but it’s not like he ever would have considered selling it.

Planted in 1962 back when Fukumoto and his wife were newlyweds living in an apartment in Honolulu, it was the first tree he ever owned and the one that sparked his lifelong interest in bonsai.

And after all the love and care Fukumoto poured into the plant, losing it hurt.

“It kind of hit me just as hard as if somebody kidnapped my daughter,” he told OK Whatever.

Fukumoto is the owner of Fuku-Bonsai, a nursery and cultural center on the Big Island of Hawaii that’s been around since 1973. He is also one of a growing number of international bonsai owners who has become prey to thieves looking to make a quick buck.

The problem is especially rampant in Japan and Hawaii where the art form is most popular, but bonsai thefts have also happened on the mainland in California, Florida, and even Brooklyn.

And it’s a problem that’s been going on for a while. People have been stealing rare bonsai trees since at least the 1960s.

Thieves are attracted to the ornamental plants, which can live for hundreds if not thousands of years. The older they get, the more valuable they become. In 1962, a stolen 45-year-old bonsai tree was valued at $2,000. Today, it would be worth almost $17,000.

Unless you take a super unique-looking bonsai, they’re also relatively easy to steal. Nurseries aren’t known for having the tightest security, and even if you get caught with a stolen tree, it can be hard to prove. Unlike diamonds or fine art, which often have inscriptions or signatures, identifying agriculture is a lot more difficult to do.

Fukumoto has had his share of stolen bonsai over the years. Before the most recent theft, a flash flood wiped out the entirety of one of his greenhouses, washing away more than $120,000 of plants.

“The word got out that there was a bunch of free bonsai available and I heard that there was a traffic jam down stream,” said Fukumoto who started a Go Fund Me to help cover the costs of his losses. “The thing is, those plants were stolen.”