Five young men are accused of stealing 300 pounds of an unusual shrub harvested in the Pacific Northwest for the florist industry.

Tomas Pimentel-Rosas, 24; Amando Pimentel-Rosas, 19; Miguel Pimentel-Rosas, 26; Apolinar Pimental-Rosas, 20; and Isidro Namitle-Tepepa, 26, were arrested during an investigation into the illegal harvest of salal on Plum Creek Timber property west of Siletz , Oregon.

Police said the five men had cut down and taken over 300 pounds of salal without permits to do so. The men were charged with cutting and transporting a minor timber product.

Salal or shallon, is a leathery-leaved shrub that's native to western North America. In the Pacific Northwest, salal is harvested for a large export of evergreens that are in turn sold to florists worldwide for use in floral arrangements.

Its dark blue berries are also edible and sometimes used as appetite suppressants. Salal berries were a significant food resource for native people, who both ate them fresh and dried them into cakes.

Police have not said what they think the five men were planning to do with the salal.