Dean Karras | November Meeting Speaker

Gates October Meeting, November 2nd at 7pm PST
Redlands Church of the Nazarene
1307 East Citrus Avenue
Redlands, CA 92374

Dean will present a botanical travelogue of his two expeditions to Baja, Mexico. The emphasis of the presentation will be on field observations of the xerophytic plants we know and love, especially the cacti, geophytes, epiphytes, and stem succulents. However, Dean will also discuss how the greater climate, geology, and ecology of the Baja ecoregion collectively shape the unique landscape and the plants that inhabit it.

Who is Dean Karras Ostler?

Dean Karras began collecting and growing cacti from seed as a hobby in 2008. He has been a member of the Palomar Cactus & Succulent Society since 2017, and a member of the San Diego Cactus & Succulent Society since 2019, where he now serves as Board Member and Show Chair. Some of his favorite succulent genera are: aloe, agave, dudleya, trichocereus, echinocereus, astrophytum, and ferocactus. Dean is also partial to mesembs, caudiciforms, and xeric bromeliads, although his passion for plants extends far beyond succulents to include organic gardening & permaculture practices, natives, edibles, and ethnobotanically significant plants. He realized his long-standing dream of owning his own nursery to serve the local community when he opened Gnosis Nursery in July of 2020, which he now runs full-time. When not busy propagating and selling plants, Dean can be found exploring and photographing the Desert Southwest and Baja.