Botanic Briefings

DATES: Jan. 13, Feb. 11, March 17, April 15
TIMES: 12-1 p.m.
PRICE: Included in Garden Admission or Membership

Join us for monthly informative presentations from Garden staff and other local experts.

Jan. 13: Research and Horticulture’s Expedition to Oaxaca, Mexico
Dorrance Hall

• Andrew Salywon, Herbarium Curator and Research Botanist
• Noemi Hernandez Plant Form Specialist – Cactus Horticulture
• Raul Puente Curator of living Collections & Research Botanist
• Octavio Rivera, Plant Form Specialist for Agave and Aloe

Learn from our Research, Conservation and Collections team as they share tales from the field on their recent plant expedition to Oaxaca, Mexico in August 2025.

Feb. 11: Diamonds are Wherever: Seeking Ecological Treasure in the Namib Desert’s Restricted Diamond Mining Area
Webster Auditorium
Dr. Joe McAuliffe, Director Emeritus and Senior Research Scientist

Following the discovery of diamonds in the southern Namib Desert in 1908, access to this area has been severely restricted. To this day, few ecologists have had the opportunity to examine this extremely arid region. Dr. Joe McAuliffe had the unusual opportunity to spend two weeks working in this area in 2022, and will share some of what he saw and learned during that experience.

March 17: The Hassica An Garden: an ethnobotanical and research site in the Comcaac Land of Sonora, Mexico
Dorrance Hall

• Raul Puente, Curator of living Collections & Research Botanist

Since 2015, Desert Botanical Garden’s researchers have been making trips to the coast of Sonora as part of our columnar cacti studies, along with collecting seeds and herbarium vouchers, in land belonging to one of the most enigmatic indigenous groups in the Sonoran Desert region of Mexico: the Comcaac Nation. The Comcaac, in the past known as the Seri Indians, are famous for their knowledge and ample use of native plants as food, medicinal, construction and handcrafts, such as baskets and ironwood carvings. We have been helping to develop a piece of land adjacent to the village of Punta Chueca, as a long term plot for research on the climate change impact on columnar cacti, as well as an ethnobotanical trail to promote plant uses among local youth and visitors.

April 15: Safeguarding Our Desert Icon: Inside the Saguaro Initiatives at Desert Botanical Garden
Dorrance Hall

• Tania Hernandez, New World Succulents Cactus Scientist

The Saguaro Initiatives are a set of research, conservation, and community-science programs led by Desert Botanical Garden to understand, protect and restore saguaros across the Phoenix Valley and our changing desert. This talk will share what we are learning about saguaro genetics, health, survival, and resilience in the face of rising heat and drought, and how these efforts connect science, volunteers, saguaro owners and long-term conservation. Attendees will also learn how the community can participate in helping safeguard this iconic species for future generations.