Further pushing up prices is the recent gambling craze: stout camphor wood is considered the best material for the objects and statues used in picking lucky numbers. Great demand for ling-chih, or "efficacious fungus," reputed to be a panacea in Chinese medicine, poses another threat to the tree.
近來大家樂、六合彩盛行，大家猛求神問卜尋明牌，被視為能刻出最靈驗神像的牛樟需求量大增，價格上揚，更使盜伐者有增無減，抓不勝抓。