Xerophile Cactus Expeditions

George Lindsay next to a Ferocactus diguetii, Cerralvo Island, Baja California Sur, Mexico, 1952, photo Reid Moran

From the book Xerophile: Cactus Photographs from Expeditions of the Obsessed, edited and designed by Cactus Store and Help Ltd., published by Hat & Beard Press, 2017

Eulychnia ritteri, Peru, 2002, photo Martin Lowry

Since the 1930s, Southern California has been home to a rich network of cactus and succulent clubs, societies, and shows. Evidence of this history is stored away all over the Southland — go to a longtime cactus collector’s garage, and you’ll likely find shoe boxes stuffed full of old succulent newsletters and magazines, stacked up next to the Christmas decorations and boogie boards.

Miguel Dominguez Leon next to a Pachycereus pringlei, Santa Catalina Island, Baja California Sur, Mexico, 1996, photo Jon Rebman

Bargain…