Exploring remote locations to try to find new species and decipher relationships between species can often get researchers into challenging situations on the sides of cliffs or in sketchy boats. Stephen has braved rough seas, steep climbs, and close encounters with dangerous wildlife as part of the process of naming five Dudleya species new to science. While describing these adventures, he will also talk about the many endangered species of Dudleya (a.k.a Liveforevers) and how grow them successfully.
Stephen McCabe worked in Yosemite for three summers, started studying Dudleya in 1983, then worked at the University of California Santa Cruz Arboretum for 30 years. His hobby of rock climbing has come in handy in accessing some of the species in the group he studies. He has published widely on the genus Dudleya and on a variety of subjects. Some of the publications were in Madroño, the Cactus and Succulent Journal, Fine Gardening, the Jepson Manual second edition, Systematic Botany, the American Alpine Journal, and Rock Garden Quarterly. He has named five species of Dudleya and has developed cultivars of Dudleya, monkey flower, × Gasteraloe, manzanita, and an Australian shrub. He was named the first and only Fellow of the Society for the San Jose Cactus and Succulent Society. Stephen and his brother Bill, our current club president, have been growing cacti and succulents since they were young.
April meeting:
Monday, April 27, 2026
6:15pm -9:15pm
Doors open at 6:15 for plant sales and fellowship.
Program begins at 7 PM.
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