The Beaver Tale June 2008

From the President:

When is a fundraiser not an event to make money? The recent Mother’s Day Blooms and
Tunes Brunch at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve was such an event. The Springs Preserve
offered all Nevada Garden Clubs an opportunity to promote awareness of their club, as well as
sell club related items. Our club members were invited to bring a variety of items to sell, with
the club only taking 15% of the profits. We took in less than a thousand dollars in sales over
the course of long day, so after paying for the rental of a wireless charge machine and the
associated credit card charges it was a wash, if that.
So, it wasn’t a fundraiser, per se, but it was a chance to “meet and greet” and show the flag;
as that, it was a big success. A number of people came just for the Mother’s Day brunch, but
checked us and out and walked away with an impulse buy and with membership brochures
and a new awareness that the Cactus and Succulent Society of Southern Nevada is out there
and alive and well. Hopefully, the long-term effect will mean new members for the club and a
greater awareness for many of the role that cacti and succulents play in home landscaping
here in the Las Vegas Valley.
Thanks go to Pete Duncombe, who hosted the event and provided us with two tents and the
prime location in the amphitheater. Thanks also to Susan Kent, Paula Garrett, Victor Lindsey,
Stephanie Thomas, Tom Garcia, Cal Oliver, Sara Smith, Pier Marsh, George Vanlanen, Michele
and Wayne Logan. A special thanks goes to our Treasurer, Jeanne Tinsman, who inherited
the cash register receipts and “best could do” reconciliation from Susan and I. All I can say
is, “We tried, but we’re not finance wizards.”
Also, this month the club was represented at the spring meeting of the Nevada Garden Clubs.
I wasn’t able to make it, but Victor Lindsey and Don Cadette went as voting delegates and I’m
told the event went well. I have also been informed that the club was presented with several
awards, which I’m sure Victor will share with us all in June at the next meeting.
Speaking of the June meeting, it is almost upon us. I hope to see you all there at the usual
time and the usual place: 7 p.m. the first Thursday of the month at the Nevada Garden Club
building in Lorenzi Park, with the Board meeting kicking off things at 6 p.m. Check elsewhere
in the newsletter for a rundown on what our program is for June. And, just a reminder, we will
be taking next month off and not meeting in July.

Phil Lawton
++++++++++
 Next Meeting
June 5, 2008
General Meeting Starts at 7:00 PM. Please
come early to help set up! Board Meeting
starts at 6:00 PM Members with last
names ending in N-Z please bring
refreshments.
Events
GRAB SOMEONE & GO:
June 6 (Members)/June 7 (Public) Weird
Plant Sale - Tucson Botanical Gardens
July 25-27 Giant Summer Cactus &
Succulent Sale + Orange County Cactus
& Succulent Society Show - Fullerton
Arboretum
Aug. 16 & 17 Inter-city Cactus Show & Sale
- LA Arboretum
STAY IN TOUCH AT MEETINGS & ON THE WEB.
GROUP SITE:
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/CSSSN/
WEB SITE:
http://www.csssn.org/index.php?option=com_cont
ent&task=view&id=21&Itemid=37
If you have veggie or tropical plant gardening
questions, contact club member, Leslie Doyle, aka the
“Tomato Lady”
http://www.sweettomatotestgarden.com
Watch for her several Workshops around the Valley!
Victor Lindsey’s http://calplants.biz/
We are always looking for rare, special, and large
specimen Cactus & Succulents to buy.
Call 1-800-384-4559
E-mail calplants@yahoo.com
Save 50% on Travel:
http://victorlindsey.worldventures.com
Turner-Greenhouse- http://www.turner-greenhouse.com
Dave & Kris Turner
645-2032 4455 Quadrel Street, Las Vegas, NV 89129
We specialize in Cactus & Succulents for the Landscaper & Collector
Native Nevada Cactus, Hedgehogs, Beavertails
Yuccas, Joshuas, Ocotillos, Aloes, Agaves
We also have a large selection of additional Succulents from all over the world for the house & patio.
Monthly Meeting Program: The Art of Succulent
Bonsai
Learning the art of displaying cactus and succulents in
decorator pots and combining them with rocks and top
dressing has become popular at Cactus and Succulent
Shows in Southern California and is spreading across
the nation. Commonly used plants have caudiciforms
or swollen root structures. The tuberous roots are
raised above the soil line to create a living sculpture.
Simply defined, succulent bonsai is a plant shaped by
special horticultural methods and artistically presented
in a carefully selected pot. Although different from
traditional bonsai, it uses many of the same techniques.
The horticultural art form emerged within the last thirty
years as U.S. hobbyists gained interest in caudiciforms
and pachycaul succulents. More than 2,000 plant
species from the American Southwest, Mexico, Africa,
Madagascar and Southeast Asia are now in use.
Clifford Meng is a retired accountant with bachelor’s
degree in Business Administration from California State
University in Fullerton. He has been growing cactus
and succulents for 25 years. He is currently the
Treasurer of the Cactus and Succulent Society of
America and the Orange County Cactus and Succulent
Society.
MEMBERSHIP DUES: Individual - $15.00; Household - $25
Name(s): ____________________________________
_____________________________________________
Street: ______________________________________
City, State, Zip ________________________________
Phone: ______________________________________
E-mail address: ________________________________
Email & website are default methods of communication. If
you have an e-mail address, we e-mail the newsletter. If you
wish a paper copy, please notify Liz at
dicnliz7067@netzero.net.
Dues can be paid at any monthly meeting, or you may mail
them. Thanks for your continued interest!
CSSSN – Membership
P O Box 571101
Las Vegas, NV 89157
Red & Golden Barrels, Rainbow Cactus
 Ugly Duckling Turns To Swan
Text by contributors noted, photos by David Franges, Tucson-Gardener.com
From Liz Askew: At the fall 2007 show and sale, my husband, Dick,
purchased the ugliest plant you ever saw. It was almost 4 feet tall and of a
yellow and green color. No one knew the name of this monstrosity. I did not
admonish him for his purchase as he is just starting to be interested in cacti
and succulents. We never want to discourage beginners. As the weeks
went by the plant did nothing. I got the idea one day to move it into the
shade and within a week, it had turned a beautiful green. Soon there were
buds on it all along the 4-foot stalk. I decided to find the name and looked
page by page through The Cactus Family book. There it was, “Monvillea
spegazzinii.” We are now waiting for the large whitish green blossoms, which
open at night. The upshot of this
©David Franges,
Tucson-Gardener.com
story is sometimes an ugly plant
can truly be a treasure.
More Info on the Ugly Duckling, Cereus spegazzinii
From Susan Kent: Photos here are not of Dick Askew’s plant.
CSSSN received permission to use copyrighted internet photos.
View the photographer’s beautiful photos yourself by visiting his
website http://tucson-gardener.com/ . It is sure to delight you. This
Tucson resident, photographer, and gardener is David S. Franges,
and we thank him for sharing his hobby with us. ©David Franges, Tucson-Gardener.com
According to Anderson’s THE CACTUS FAMILY, F. A. C. Weber
did the taxonomy of this ugly duckling (aka Cereus spegazzinii) in 1899.
The plant has been documented with slightly different names by several
other botanists. Britton and Rose documented the exact name in their
work between 1909 and 1929. (Their most outstanding publication [1924
rev 1933] in this regard is a four-volume set entitled, THE CACTACEAE:
DESCRIPTIONS AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF PLANTS OF THE
CACTUS FAMILY. The plant can be many-branched plant with a
generally cylindrical, marbled (white) appearance. The stems are ribbed,
and not only erect, but can also be arched or nearly prostrate. When
heat or sun stressed, the plant is brownish burgundy. Low light conditions
can result in some loss of marbling and brighter rather than bluer green
tones. The natural distribution of the plant is within Brazil, northern
Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay.
©David Franges, Tucson-Gardener.com
Even More Info on the Ugly Duckling (found as a
reference available from the CSSA):
Monvillea by Leo Martin
Reprinted from the St Louis Cactus and Succulent Society Newsletter
Britton and Rose named this genus after Parisian cactus dealer
Monville, who had earlier named several species as members of
genus Cereus. They are from central South America, from southern
Brazil into Venezuela. Clambering, vining cacti, they possess
relatively small but very effective spines. Found growing through
trees and shrubs, shaded by the leaves, in Phoenix they do well in
dappled to full shade, though tolerating full sun if moved gradually.
They tolerate little or no frost, appreciate warmth in winter, and will
grow all winter if kept warm, watered, and brightly lit. In the summer, they grow fastest with plenty of water.
Flowers in abundance are white to pinkish, nocturnal, and long-tubed, reminiscent of Peniocereus but held
laterally rather than upright. Fruits are red, and M. spegazzinii, at least, is self-fertile in my collection.
Familiar species include M. spegazzinii, with marbled grey and purple stems, and its crested form; and M.
cavendishii, with solid green stems, somewhat larger in scale than M. spegazzinii.
PUZZLING MATTER, THIS “UGLY DUCKLING”
4 letter word 6 letter words 8 letter words 11 letter word
Rose Cereus Botanist Ellipsoidal
5 letter words Spines Tubercle 12 letter words
Genus Thorns 9 letter word Cspegazzinii
Hound 7 letter words Cactaceae Pete Duncombe
Weber Areoles 10 letter words 14 letter word
Britton MLRobinson Horticulturist
Species Taxonomist 15 letter word
Queen of the Night

Across Down 4. Tall plants, 9. Shape of

2. Not on a cactus! 1. French angled or ribbed C.spegazinni's fruit
5. Region on cactus taxonomist Frederic stems, large 11. A plant family
that bears spines Albert Constantin _ areoles, usually with remarkable
2. Tuber like have spines, large, environmental
7. Gardens Curator funnel formed
at Springs Preserve swelling adaptations
flowers that open at 13. Cactus &/or
10. This puzzle 3. One who would night
relates to the _ study and work with rock collector, lover
plant classification, 6. Also an aria in 14. Joseph Nelson
Cereus Mozart's Magic
12. A specialist in structure, ____ collaborated
morphology, and/or Flute with another
classifications (of 8. UNCE Area
plants) function. respected botanist
Specialist/Associate to produce a
13. Person involved Professor. Has "collector's set"
in the art of helped at many of publication
gardening or plant our events.
growing, not
agronomy, forestry, 1
or agriculture
2
15. Further defines 3
members in a
4 5
genus
6
16. AKA Monvillea
spegazzinii
7 8 9
17. A cactus has
these!
10
18. Nathaniel Lord
11 12
_, botanist with,
among other
13 14
places, New York
Botanical Garden;
co-authored 4- 15

volume publication,
"The Cactaceae" 16

17

18
PUZZLE SOLUTION:
1
W
2
T H O R N S E
3
U B B
4 5
B C A R E O L E S
6
E E T R Q
R R A U
7 8 9
C P E T E D U N C O M B E E
L U I L E L
10
G E N U S S R N L
11 12
C T A X O N O M I S T
A B F P
13 14
H O R T I C U L T U R I S T S R
O T N H O O
15
U A S P E C I E S
N C O N D E
16
D C S P E G A Z Z I N I I A
A G L
17
S P I N E S H
18
B R I T T O N

Life is not always 100% about cactus & This man was born April 2, 1805, in
succulents. After all, many get their names Odense, Denmark, but did most of his
from people, places, and things. So this creative work in Copenhagen. He was not
issue of the Beaver Tale contained a tidbit raised among the wealthy. Only with self-
that related to Mozart. We also reviewed an determination, did he obtain his education
Ugly Duckling. If you know the name of the and begin to write, gaining the favor of
author discussed at the right, send it to me. prominent and influential society people
E-mail susan@csssn.org with your answer. and the admiration his peers. He wrote
(Or call 702 656 1786) Respondents with many plays, novels, and stories, but his
correct answers win a chance at most treasured are his children’s fables.
something worth a hoot & a holler & a (Danny Kaye starred in a movie by this
happy day! man’s name.)
 Photos from Blooms and Tunes, Mother’s Day 2008 at the Spring’s Preserve
(missing are photos of Pottery by Pier Marsh and George Vanlanen as well as great plants from Pete
Duncombe and Stephanie Thomas) Photos, except where noted by Susan Kent

Petroglyphs by Michele and Larry Logan – Photo by Gourd pottery by Cal Oliver
Stephanie Thomas

Dish Gardens by Paula Garrett Gourd art (kaleidoscope) by Sarah Smith

Happy shoppers & Potential CSSSN members Coach Phil hard at work.