Is it illegal to touch or pick the cherry blossoms that are in full bloom in Washington, DC?

Millions of tourists from all over flock to the nation’s capital each spring to catch a glimpse of the treasured cherry blossom trees.The blooms reached peak blossom this weekend as travelers snapped photos along the Tidal Basin and amid the monuments.While enjoying the scene, however, many visitors may not know there could be some harm done and even a penalty imposed for picking precious blooms or climbing the tree branches. Fox News Digital asked cherry blossom visitors over the weekend if they knew whether it’s “illegal” to touch or pick the blooms.“I don’t know, but I already picked a couple of flowers, so I hope it’s not,” said a young boy from Frederick, Maryland, as he stood with his family amid the trees.A woman named Gina, who was visiting from Pennsylvania, answered, “Most likely, if you’re asking the question.”Said a man named Chris of Pennsylvania, “Probably.”A woman from Miami, Florida, admitted, “We did touch it because we had never touched it.So hopefully we’re OK.”She added, “But the texture is just so beautiful.

We had never even seen one.”Masha, who was visiting from Philadelphia, said, “I don’t think so.I saw someone with one, I think.”A Maryland man said, “I think it’s illegal.

But once it falls on the ground, then we can touch it.”A girl from Greenbelt, Maryland, said, “It depends if you’re taking lots of them.”“If there’s a limited amount, I guess it would be illegal,” said a man named Phillip of Staten Island, New York.“But I mean, it’s really fine if you’re just taking a couple leaves or so,” he said.Various federal statutes and regulations state that it is unlawful to willfully destroy, cut, break, injure or remove any tree, shrub or plant within a national military park or land of the United States.The US Code under §1865 National Park Service states that there is a penalty for “offenses relating to structures and vegetation.”An offender could be “imprisoned...