Remembrance of cacti & succulents past

It’s about time I wrote something about our local Cactus and Succulent Society. Organizations like this are great in fostering our beloved hobby, providing a forum for "great minds" to share not just their plants but also their experiences, techniques, do’s and don’ts, and other cultural secrets. The meetings also provide an avenue for members to simply socialize and enjoy each other’s company. This year is extra-special, as this marks the silver anniversary of the society.

I believe this is the only society in our country that focuses on cacti and succulents, but I may be mistaken. To put this in context, Australia has 19 organizations, the United Kingdom has 93 branches, Germany has 120, and that cactus-crazy land of the former Czechoslovakia has over 100 plus! Our local society has members from across the archipelago, but majority of them come from Metro Manila.

I remember that my first contact with the society was when I was still a teenager. I remember meeting Serapion Metilla, founder and still an active member and consultant to the society, in one of the early events of the organization. I was eagerly looking to purchase plants to bolster my growing collection. Mr. Mett, as he is fondly called by his friends, was manning his own stall and selling some really nice plants. I bought a multi-headed Gymnocalycium friedrichii from him for the high price (back then) of P80. It was such a beauty, an old mother plant that produced numerous offsets at its sides and growing point. I also bought a Mammillaria plumosa, the feather ball cactus, from another member for P50. These were very high sums back then – at least for a struggling but over-anxious teener like myself who relied simply on savings from my school allowance. I remember seeing some magnificent specimens of various mammillarias and echinocereus, each selling for the princely sum of P300. Really mind-boggling prices back then! The event also included a competitive show, where members and other participants exhibited their plants and won ribbons for the quality and rarity of their wards. The main attraction of the event was a huge specimen of Echinocactus grusonii, the famous golden barrel cactus. This plant was exhibited by one of the members who supposedly paid P5,000 for the plant back then! Wow! I wonder what’s become of that plant. I think I became a junior member of the society during this event. I renewed my membership a few years after I returned from the US.

Mr. Mett gave a nice account of the history of the society in the Florikultura ’98 souvenir program of the society. I’d like to recap some recollections of the founder here:

"It was in Aurora Gardens located in Intramuros, Manila, where the Cactus and Succulent Society was born. This was on May 7, 1978 ... As manager of Aurora Gardens, a project of Mga Lingkod Bayan Ladies Association of the former First Lady Imelda Marcos where permanent garden exhibits were held with commercial stalls, I had the opportunity to meet many types of plant lovers – orchid enthusiasts, collectors of cacti and succulents, palms and ferns; landscapers, bonsai growers, flower arrangers and bromeliad connoisseurs, among others. One of the attractions in the exhibit area was a small cactus house. Because of this, some enthusiasts suggested the formation of an organization.

"I made some press releases for the organizational meeting and about 18 cactus lovers attended the first meeting. The late Dr. Augusto Evidente of Dagupan, Pangasinan who already had a good collection, was elected as the founding president. He managed the club up to 1980."

A word about Dr. Evidente’s collection. I remember seeing an exhibit of his plants at that Intramuros event. His clay pots were all painted and I was told his plants were seed-grown. I was amazed to see astrophytum species for the first time, and these were quite sizable. Dr. Evidente was surely a master grower for having raised such plants! Since his passing, his wife Dr. Virginia Evidente has taken up the collection and remains active in the society.

Now back to Mr. Mett’s recollections: "In 1980 to 1982, another doctor, the late Dr. Ramon Samaniego of Los Baños, took over as president. Unfortunately, he was not able to finish his term because of ill health. His wife, Dr. Lily Samaniego, then took over up to 1985. Anton Claro came next from 1985 to 1987 and in 1987 to 1989, Aurora Casuga held the reins."

I actually met Anton Claro in another society, the Philippine Philatelic Society. Anton was an active leader of that organization and I was a budding philatelist. I competed in a number of national philatelic exhibitions which Anton helped organize. So it was a welcome surprise to see Anton also sharing a passion for cacti and succulents. By the way, I’m still an active philatelist and hope to compete internationally one of these days. Stamps are yet another of my vices.

Back to Mr. Mett’s recollections: "Apart from the regular monthly meetings, garden shows with lecture demonstrations on the different aspects of cactus culture were held annually. The first and second were held in Aurora Gardens, and twice at the Japanese Gardens. The fifth one was a sort of bazaar and sale held at Manila Seedling Bank ... It was during the administration of Dr. Lily Samaniego that the biggest exhibit was held with about 30 commercial stall holders participating. This was held at the Quezon City Hall sunken garden in April 1983. In the ensuing years, there were no exhibits solely conducted by the club. However, we participated in the flower and garden shows of the Philippine Horticultural Society. There was one show where we had a joint exhibit with the Bromeliad Connoisseurs and the Fern Society titled ‘Plantastic’... For fund raising, bazaars were conducted at the Elliptical Orchids and Garden Center and at the Flower Mart in the compound of Manila Seedling Bank. Once a year at least, the group goes out of town with trips to Pampanga, Dagupan, Los Baños, Tagaytay and Baguio with the idea of meeting other collectors from the provinces and acquiring more plants."

Today, the society is headed by Amelita Ileto-Sibayan. Mely is a certified public accountant, accredited auditor and tax practitioner who has a strong passion for cacti and succulents. She was actually also president from 1994 to 1997. My good friend Peter Bangayan, who took the photos shown here, succeeded her for a few years. Mely was then re-elected to the helm. The society generally meets every second Sunday of each month. This month’s meeting was held at the residence of Eric Diaz and I was invited to be the guest speaker, where I spoke about some of my favorite cacti and succulents. Some of the regulars like Rudy Ranjo, Chit Rufo, Sally Obien, and Dory Bernabe, who came all the way from Los Baños, were on hand for the meeting. Mely and her leadership team are also planning this year’s 25th anniversary celebrations for the society, which will culminate in a show with a souvenir program targeted for December this year.

For those out there who share a similar passion for these wonderful members of the Plant Kingdom, I urge you to join The Cactus and Succulent Society of the Philippines. You may contact Mely Sibayan at 926-4199 or 929-1744 for further details.