San Gabriel Valley Cactus and Succulent Society

March 14th Speaker: Russel Ray
Nature’s Geometry: Succulents

Our meeting starts at 7:30 pm in Ayres Hall of the LA Arboretum

Guests are welcome

Russel uses the Fibonacci sequence of numbers to look at the shape of plants, the number of plant ribs, the number of spines in areoles, golden angles, phyllotaxis (the divergence angle), golden triangles, Fibonacci triangles, golden squares, golden rectangles, circles, fractals, and, most fascinating to him, golden spirals. He brings a selection of live succulents showing nature’s geometry and will have copies for sale of his book, “Nature’s Geometry: Succulents”

Russel Ray Biography

Russel Ray is from Kingsville, Texas, where he was born and then raised mostly by his paternal grandmother. He has lived in the San Diego area since April 1993. He has been self-employed his entire life, mostly as a “serial entrepreneur” specializing in getting companies through startup and growth phases. He has owned businesses in grocery export, antique restoration, roofing, landscaping, international & wireless telecommunications, heating & cooling, computer sales, writing & editing, typing & desktop publishing, construction, real estate agent, real estate investing & renovating, project management, business consultant, home inspector, photographer, and author.

A short Russel Ray timeline:

1968—Created a 100-square-foot cactus rock garden in his grandmother’s yard.

1973—Became fascinated with the Fibonacci sequence of numbers and how they are expressed in nature.

2017—Retired and started learning the scientific names for all his favorite plants.

March 2024 Commuiqué