"Phytotourism in Yemen"

Presented by Dr. Robert Webb and Toni Yokum

Six weeks exploring Yemen on our own. Just Toni and I with various guides and drivers going where we wanted to go. While Socotra occupied 3 weeks of that time, we're going to talk about mainland Yemen. We'll discuss a wide variety of species there including Adenium, Euphorbias, Aloes, Commiphoras, yada yada yada and the culture, architecture, people, terrorists, etc. etc.

Bob Webb has collected succulent plants for about 20 years. For his day job, he is a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Tucson; however, he has worked as a plant ecologist in the southwestern United States and Baja, California for nearly 30 years. He's been traveling to the Arabian Peninsula and Africa since the mid-1990s and has visited Oman, Kenya, Socotra, Yemen and South Africa in search of succulent plants.

Dr. Robert Webb has worked on land-use issues and landscape ecology of the southwestern United States and Baja California for more than 30 years. For the past 12 years, he has worked with Mexican government scientists on plant conservation issues in Baja California centering on cirio, cardon, and other charismatic species that are iconic to the peninsula. He has a Ph.D from the University of Arizona in Geosciences (1985) and has worked for the National Research Program of the U.S. Geological Survey for nearly 20 years. Bob Webb and Toni Yokum are owners of Arid Lands Greenhouses at 3560 W. Bilby Road Tucson AZ 85746 Phone: (520) 883-9404.

This will be a very special program for anyone interested in remote areas of the world where many rarely seen succulents are found. We are really looking forward to having Bob as our special guest so please join us and bring a friend for this very special presentation.

"A foreigner (Bob Webb) pretends to be a Yemeni!"

Free Plants at the meeting

Mammillaria and Coryphantha ( various species) Mammillaria and Coryphantha are native to Mexico and the southwestern US, typically characterized by a short squatty appearance with tubercles instead of ribs. They are suitable for pot culture or growing out in the ground as landscape plants or in rock gardens once of adequate size. Mammillaria typically enjoy filtered light in our growing conditions, while some Coryphantha often grow in full sun and have more dense spination. Some species are opportunistic and can bloom multiple times throughout the growing season when water is plentiful. Our local Mammillaria grahamii is well known for its candy-striped blossoms during the monsoon and thousands have been collected by the TCSS Cactus Rescue Program. For more information, refer to www.mammillarias.net and see many photos by our very own Norm Dennis!