Cacti of the Atacama: A Botanical Adventures Lecture
About
Join former Ruth Bancroft Garden horticulturalist Szymon Szary as he shares stories from a cactus-focused exploratory trip through central and northern Chile, spanning the diverse landscapes of the coastal and interior Atacama Desert to the high elevations of the Andean Mountains. The objective of this journey was to find as many iconic Atacama and Andean cactus species as possible to observe and document them in their natural habitat. The presentation offers insight into the unique cactus flora of Chile, shaped by some of the driest and most rugged regions on Earth About the Speaker: Szymon Szary Szymon’s interest in cacti began in middle school after visiting his cousin’s collection. Upon relocating to California in 2015, he discovered an opportunity to combine several longstanding passions — backpacking, hiking, photography, and botany — through desert exploration. His experience in the backcountry proved invaluable for reaching remote and ecologically significant sites, while his photography skills allowed him to carefully document the specific conditions under which various cactus species thrive — essential for understanding how and why these plants succeed in such extreme environments. Join us for this lecture – or make it a double with our Botanical Adventures Lecture Series. These talks take us around the world in search of extraordinary plants and landscapes. Through the eyes of passionate botanists, explorers, and plant enthusiasts, each presentation reveals the uni
