March 2026 - Ron Parsons on " Rarities and Oddities of the Orchid World"

Ron Parsons

This month we are excited to welcome back Ron Parsons, who will be sharing his talk "Rarities and Oddities of the Orchid World". His talk features some of the strangest and rarest plants of the orchid family, including both terrestrial and epiphytic species. The majority of terrestrial orchids are not in cultivation and many of those shown were photographed in nature. Most of the epiphytic species presented are in cultivation, and though some may be relatively common, others are not, but hopefully all will inspire a bit of awe.

 Ron is a shared speaker with the San Diego County Orchid Society, and he will be giving his talk, "Colombia, Otra Vez!" on Tuesday, March 3rd, at 6:30pm in Balboa Park. You can watch his talk on Zoom (contact Barry or Alex for the link) or in person at the Casa Del Prado, room 101.

 Ron has been growing orchids for more than 50 years, and has been interested in the species for most of that time. He loves to photograph orchids and other flowers whenever possible. Ron has more than 124,000 digital images, most of which are of orchids, and still retains a slide library that exceeds 100,000 botanical images. He has given more than 500 talks on various botanical topics and has more than 7000 published photos. Ron has co-authored five books on botanical subjects, all with Mary E. Gerritsen. The first two, published by Timber Press, are Masdevallias, Gems of the OrchidWorld and Calochortus, Mariposa Lilies and their Relatives. The third book, a two-volume set, A Compendium of Miniature Orchid Species, was published by Redfern Natural History Productions in January 2014.

In 2019 The American Orchid Society Guide to Orchids and their Culture was released and is on its third printing. The fifth book, a much-revised second edition of A Compendium of Miniature Orchids Species was released in October 2021. It is now a four-volume set with 3100 photos (1800 are new), including those of more than 500 species not in the first edition.

This month’s plant table will be supplied by Andy’s Orchids.