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.
When in-person meetings resume,
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 7:20. Attendance is FREE and open to the public. Each new visitor receives a free plant! 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
October Meeting will be held on-line via zoom
Thursday October 7 at 6:30pm
Please watch your email for more information!
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Tour of Arizona
with focus on the rare, endangered
and difficult to find cacti of the region
by Peter Breslin, PhD
space
Plant of the Month
Plants of the Month
October 2021
Cactus - Grafted
Succulent - Grafted
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
For this talk, Breslin will present a tour of Arizona, with a focus on the rare, endangered and difficult to find cacti of the region. Arizona is home to the iconic saguaro and organ pipe, of course, but in this talk, Breslin highlights the tiny, well hidden, unusual, often small cacti found in the state, such as Pediocactus peeblesianus subsp. fickeiseniorum, Cochemiea viridiflora (yes, moved from Mammillaria) and Escobaria robbinsorum. The presentation features dozens of photographs and is packed with information on the unusual cacti and succulents of Arizona and their habitats. Breslin was one of the authors of the Field Guide to the Cacti and Succulents of Arizona, published by the Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society, now in its third edition.
BIO
Peter Breslin has been involved in the cactus and succulent hobby since he was 10 years old and his grandmother bought him a grafted Parodia at a garden center. Something about the fuzzy spines and weird green flowers caught his attention and he has been fascinated ever since. During many years as an avid grower and amateur botanist, Breslin had a 26 year career as a high school English and mathematics teacher. In 2014, he decided to begin graduate studies at Arizona State University toward a PhD in Environmental Life Sciences, which he completed in winter, 2020. His areas of research included plant population biology, conservation biology, species distribution and biogeography and the emerging field of landscape genetics. His dissertation research, supported in part by generous grants from the Cactus and Succulent Society of America, has been focused on the island endemic cacti of the Pacific islands of Baja California.
Echinocereus ledingii
Pediocactus peeblesianus
ssp. fickeiseniorum
Echinomastus erectocentrus
