History

A History of the LACSS

A stylized orange tree with a wide base and a tall, thin trunk inside an oval frame on a black background.

In 2015 the Los Angeles Cactus and Succulent Society celebrated its 80th anniversary, making it the second oldest cactus club in existence.  Begun in 1935 as The Southwest Cactus Growers, our current official title was adopted in 1947.  

Through the decades, the LACSS has held close ties to the CSSA (Cactus and Succulent Society of America), with seven of our members having served as CSSA president: Homer Rush (1954-55), Ted Taylor (1960-63), and LACSS founding member Don Skinner (1964-67).  The following decade saw members Ed Gay (1968-69), Bill Lockwood (1972-74), and Virginia Martin (1977-79) at the helm.  Duke Benadom served from 2000 to 2004, backed by a stint as CSSA Journal editor.  Charles Glass served as CSSA Journal editor for more than 25 years.  A formal editor of  the Journal was a LACSS member Tim Harvey.

Notable plant people are also present in LACSS history.  Baja California explorers Ed and Betty Gay hold the distinction of having a genus and two species named in their honor: Morangaya pencilis, Tillandsia elizabethae, and Hechtia gayii. CSSA Superior Service Awards have gone to Leo and Lillian Pickoff, Ellen and Bill Low, Ed and Betty Gay, Fred Hutflesz, Duke and Kazuko Benadom, and Brigitte Williams.  CSSA Special Service Awards have gone to Seymour Linden, Charles Glass, and Duke Benadom.  Fellow Awards have gone to Charles Glass, Seymour Linden, Virginia Martin, and Ted Taylor. 

For almost a century, the LACSS has been a source of information and camaraderie for those with a passion for desert flora.  Given the knowledge and enthusiasm or our members, we are sure to be around for another 80 years.

Below is a year-by-year account of the Society's activities from 1935 to 2001.