The Chico Bonsai Society will be hosting guest speaker Gianluca Bacci, founder of Rare Plantsmen Nursery, who will be coming from Sonoma to speak to our Chico Bonsai Society from 10:15 to 10:30 a.m. on July 13 at the Butte County Public Library, 1108 Sherman Ave. Gianluca has a vast amount of knowledge in this specific area and has agreed to come and give us a presentation. We would like to include anyone that is interested in succulents to attend. Gianluca’s interest in etymology began at an early age and upon his meeting a professor at U.C. Berkeley he was advised to study plants before he pursued etymology. From that conversation and a visit to a well known plant store in Berkeley, The Cactus Jungle, he began on another career path. Gianluca has traveled extensively including a trip to Socotra, off the coast of Somalia, to study native succulent species. It is an island, and very difficult to get to. He stayed a month there with some botanist friends. There was no electricity, and camping was with absolutely no amenities. While attending UC Davis he spent three years managing and caring for the xeric plant collection at the UC Davis Botanical Conservatory. He now runs a wholesale nursery in Sonoma County with two partners specializing in the production of rare and unusual species for the horticultural trade.