Wild Cacti and Succulents of the West

By Ron Parsons
Tuesday, November 15, 7:00 pm

We are pleased to feature a presentation at our November meeting by noted botanical photographer and SFSCS member Ron Parsons. Ron will discuss and share his images of our own beautiful native cacti and succulents that he has photographed in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado. The photos were taken on multiple trips through the Southwest from 2009 to the present.

Ron Parsons has been growing orchids for more than 40 years, and he loves to photograph them—and most other flowers—whenever he can, whether in nature or in collections. He loves to travel to see orchids in the wild, and does so as often as possible. Ron has close to 60,000 digital images, most of which are of orchids, and still retains a slide library that exceeds 100,000 botanical images. He has at least 3000 published photos that have appeared in magazines, periodicals, journals and books, and he has co-authored three botanical books, all with Mary E. Gerritsen. The first two, published by Timber Press, are Masdevallias, Gems of the Orchid World and Calochortus, Mariposa Lilies and their Relatives. Most recently, the third book, a luxurious two-volume set titled A Compendium of Miniature Orchid Species was published by Redfern Natural History Productions in January of 2014. It has nearly 1200 pages, 1800 photographs, and features more than 500 species.

This month’s featured growers will be Dana Gardner and Russell Wagner.

What to bring:

For the Show & Tell table, we will feature Euphorbia on the succulent side and Ariocarpus, Obregonia and Leuchtenbergia on the cactus side, and anything else looking good that you would like to share.

Please bring baked goodies, fruit, snack food or a beverage if your last name begins with the letters N to R, and any other members who would like to contribute this month.

Location: Auditorium in the San Francisco County Fair Building, 1199 9th Ave (at Lincoln Way), San Francisco