Namibia After the Storms: 2011

Posted on by

With Doug Dawson
Tuesday, May 17, 2022 – 7:00 pm Pacific Time

NOTE: Members and visitors can attend in person in San Francisco, or watch on Zoom.

Program Description

After four months of recurring storms pounding their way across Namibia from the Atlantic Ocean, the weather finally cleared up about a week before Doug’s arrival for a twenty day journey on May 6, 2011. After exploring the country on six prior trips, he wondered what the Namib Desert would look like after the wettest 4 months in recorded history.

Namibia has many exotic succulents, from Mesembs in the south to caudiciforms and baobabs in the north. Route planning is critical—most highways are gravel and pass through riverbeds. Petrol stations are sparse. It’s a good idea to have at least two fourwheel drive vehicles, two spare tires per vehicle, and a few gas cans.

Many succulent lovers have had difficulty growing Namibian plants. There is no replacement for visiting and observing the conditions: soil, elevation, fog and seasonal weather, companion plants, rock types, and many more qualities of the environment. Most books are woefully incomplete about critical aspects of the plants’ needs.

Speaker Bio

Doug is a retired math professor and does extensive botanical travels to areas of the world where succulents grow, including Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Yemen, Socotra, Africa, and his own state of Arizona. He has organized 18 botanical exploratory trips to South Africa and Namibia, camping on local farms and public areas for three weeks and exploring the surrounding mountains and hills by day. His next trip to South Africa will be Sept 17, 2022. His private plant collection emphasizes seedlings, Lithops, other Mesembs, Northern Cape Crassulas, and Arizona natives. He is a member of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America, the Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society, and the Central Arizona Cactus and Succulent Society.

For the show and tell table this month, we will feature pachycaul and caudiciform succulents (that is, plants with swollen bases or fat trunks), or anything that comes from Namibia.

This month’s featured grower is Annie Wolf.

There will be no shared snack table this month, but you can bring your own.

Current SF Covid requirements for our venue: Masks and vaccination strongly recommended. We will keep doors open to ensure adequate ventilation.

Watch Online

On Zoom: Register or join the meeting in progress

Or watch the simulcast on our Facebook page: http://fb.me.sfsucculent

Meeting Agenda

7:00 Mingling and announcements
7:30 Formal presentation starts promptly with Society business
7:35 Show and Tell Table – with Brian Kemble
7:50 Leg stretch
7:55 Featured presentation

Upcoming Events