Los Angeles
Cactus and Succulent Society
Meeting in the San Fernando Valley.
Welcome to the website of the
Los Angeles Cactus and Succulent Society.
Our more than 200 members come from throughout the southland and share a passion for cacti and succulents. Throughout the history of LACSS, many of the most prominent researchers, authors, and collectors of the succulent world have been leaders and members of our society.
Doors open at 6:15 for our monthly meetings including the Social Hour, Ask an Expert, and much more. The business meeting starts promptly at 7:00. Attendance is FREE and open to the public. We hope to see you at a meeting soon!
Mission Statement
The Los Angeles Cactus and Succulent Society (LACSS) cultivates the study and enjoyment of cacti and succulent plants through educational programs and activities that promote the hobby within a community of fellow enthusiasts and among the greater public.
LACSS Meetings are the first Thursday of the Month
March 2023 Meeting will be
LIVE & IN PERSON
Thursday March 2, 2023
at
ONEGeneration
18255 Victory Blvd, Reseda, CA
Just east of Reseda Blvd, on north side of street
Goodbye Zoom
This meeting will be in person only!
Doors open at 6:15pm
check your Cactus Chronicle newsletter for more details
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March program will be
Hidden Treasures of Coahuila by Woody Minnich
Plant of the Month
Current and complete list of all books in our library!
CLICK HERE for library list.
Library items are available to all members in good standing at the meetings.
While the world endures the Covid-19 pandemic,
please
take care of yourselves, take care of your plants,
and remember that spending time in your garden can provide some much needed tranquility.
For link to fun & informative CSSA presentations from 2015 & 2017 conventions
click on Members Info link
In my yard
Euphorbia millii grown from a neighbor's cutting.
Flowers about 2" across.
Biography
Woody, as he is commonly known, grew up in the Mojave Desert and has had an attraction to desert plants and animals since the early 1950’s. He has been involved with the cactus and succulent world for over 52 years, as a grower, field explorer, club and organization leader, writer, photographer, lecturer and presenter.He has published numerous articles and reviews in various journals (CSSA) and his photography is featured in many books
Woody and his wife, Kathy, live in Cedar Grove, New Mexico. He is a retired secondary school teacher of 32 years where he taught Graphics, Art and Architecture. In the cactus and succulent hobby, Woody is recognized for his high energy and creative spirit. As an educator, he has become an important part of the hobby and thus is an honorary life member of thirteen C&S societies across the country. He has been president, show and sale chair, newsletter editor, program chair, and plant of the month coordinator. Woody has also served on the CSSA board and numerous societies in many other leadership positions.Mexico is thought by many to be the richest region in the world for cacti. For all those individuals who travel in search of rare and unusual cacti, their first choice is often Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is considered the center of diversity for Mexican genera, ranging from Ariocarpus to Aztekiums, Echinocereus, Ferocactus, Geohintonia, Gymnocactus, Mammillaria, Obregonia, Pelecephora, Thelocactus, Turbinicarpus and many, many more. Because of the plethora of plants found in the states of Tamalipas, Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosi and Hidalgo, most field workers ignore the little explored Coahuila.
For most of us, Coahuila and its neighboring state of Chihuahua were often only used as drive-throughs on our way to the succulent rich south. In recent years, many of the serious plant explorers have started finding new back country roads in these two states. These new roads have graciously opened up some of the rarely explored areas to extremely remote regions, and some of these back country roads (trails) are not even found on the maps! Coahuila, as close as it is to the USA, actually has some of the least explored and most remote regions in all of Mexico. The Sierra del Carmen abuts the Rio Grand and the Big Bend National Park. Close to this area, we discovered a new, very beautiful Echinomastus, or possibly Gymnocactus?
new species of Echinomastus
