<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><div class="moz-text-html" lang="x-unicode" style="">
<p style="font-size: 14px; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 150%;"><font face="times new roman, serif">
</font></span></span></p><div style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 150%;"><font face="times new roman, serif"><font size="2" style=""><b style="">[<font style="" color="#ff0000"><u>Note</u></font>: do not respond to this email, use</b></font><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 21px;"><b> <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated moz-txt-link-freetext" href="mailto:benkamm@monitor.net">benkamm@monitor.net</a> </b></span></span><font size="2" style=""><b style=""> ]</b></font></font></span></div>
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<div style="font-size: large;"><font face="times new roman, serif">Greetings,</font></div>
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<div style="font-size: large;"><font face="times new roman, serif"><font size="4">It's taken us half a year longer than anticipated, but: </font><br>
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<div style=""><font face="times new roman, serif" style=""><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height:150%;"><span style="line-height:150%;">
<div><span style="line-height:150%;"><font size="5" style=""><u style=""><b style=""><font color="#38761d">The first </font><a style="" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" href="https://sacredsucculents.com/#auction"><font color="#0000ff">Plant Auction-Fundraiser</font></a><font color="#38761d"> </font></b></u></font></span><span style="color:#38761d;line-height:150%;"><font size="5"><u><b>of 2024 is now underway</b><b>!</b></u></font></span></div>
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<div style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="6"><font size="4"><font size="4"><span style="font-size:14px;line-height:150%;"><font size="3"><font size="4"><br>
</font></font></span></font></font></font></div>
<div style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height:150%;"><font size="3"><span style="line-height:150%;"><font size="4">See partway down our homepage for the auction terms and listings: </font></span></font><a rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" href="https://sacredsucculents.com/#auction"><b style="font-size:large;"><font color="#0000ff">https://sacredsucculents.com/</font></b><font size="3"><span style="line-height:150%;"><font size="4"><font size="6"><span style="font-size:14px;line-height:150%;"><font size="4"><span style="font-size:14px;line-height:150%;"><font size="4"><span style="font-size:14px;line-height:150%;"><font size="4"><font color="#0000ff"><b>#auction</b></font></font></span></font></span></font></span></font></font></span></font></a></span></span></span></span></div><div style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height:150%;"><b style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-size: large;">Please read the full terms before bidding.</b></span></span></span></span></div><div style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="6"><font size="4"><font size="4"><span style="font-size:14px;line-height:150%;"><font size="3"><font size="4"><b>Plants are for US bidders only, </b></font></font></span></font></font></font><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height:150%;"><font size="3"><span style="line-height:150%;"><font size="6"><font size="4"><font size="4"><span style="font-size:14px;line-height:150%;"><font size="3"><font size="4">yet<font color="#ff0000"><b> </b></font>the<font color="#ff0000"><b> auction Seed and Book </b></font></font></font></span></font></font></font><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height:150%;"><font size="3"><span style="line-height:150%;"><font size="6"><font size="4"><font size="4"><span style="font-size:14px;line-height:150%;"><font size="3"><font size="4"><font color="#ff0000"><b>offering<i>s </i></b></font></font></font></span></font></font></font></span></font></span></span></span></span><font size="6"><font size="4"><font size="4"><span style="font-size:14px;line-height:150%;"><font size="3"><font size="4"><font color="#ff0000"><b><i>are open to international bidding</i>!</b></font></font></font></span></font></font></font></span></font></span></span></span></span></div><div style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height:150%;"><font size="3"><span style="line-height:150%;"><span style="font-size:large;">Know
that auction purchases directly fund essential nursery repairs and renovations as
well as our continual research and conservation work</span><b>. </b></span></font></span></span></span></span></span><font size="6"><font size="4"><font size="4"><span style="font-size:14px;line-height:150%;"><font size="3"><font size="4">Due to ongoing adversities, a <i>number of plants will only
be available via auction for some time, and many of these only as a single offering</i>.<font style=""> </font></font></font></span></font></font></font></div><div style=""><b style="font-size: large;"><i><font style="background-color:#fff;" color="#ff0000"><u>All bids should be directed to our other email</u>:</font></i></b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14px;"> </span><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated moz-txt-link-freetext" href="mailto:benkamm@monitor.net" style="">benkamm@monitor.net</a></b></div><div style=""><font style="font-size: large; font-weight: 700;">The auction closes this Friday, July 12 at 6:00pm Pacific Standard Time</font><b style="font-size: large;">.</b></div></span></font></span></span></span></font><font face="times new roman, serif" style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height:150%;"><font size="3"><span style="line-height:150%;"><div><font size="4">__</font></div></span></font></span></span></span></font></div>
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<div style="font-size: large;"><font face="times new roman, serif"><b><font style="">The</font><font style=""> </font></b><b style=""><font color="#008000" style="">SPECIMEN PLANT LIST</font></b><font style="font-weight:700;" color="#0000ff"> </font><font style=""><b>has </b></font><font size="4"><b>been updated for July with select items on sale: </b></font><b><a rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" href="https://sacredsucculents.com/#specimen-plant-list"><font color="#0000ff">https://sacredsucculents.com/#specimen-plant-list</font></a></b><br>
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<div style="font-size: large;"><font face="times new roman, serif"><b style="font-size:large;"><font color="#008000" style="">BOOKS</font><font color="#008000">: </font></b><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 150%;"><u><a rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" href="https://sacredsucculents.com/#books"><font size="4"><b><span><span><font color="#0000ff">https://sacredsucculents.com/#</font></span></span></b></font><font size="4"><b><span><span><font color="#0000ff">books</font></span></span></b></font></a></u><font size="4"><b><font color="#0000ff"><a rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" href="https://sacredsucculents.com/#products"></a></font></b></font></span></span></font></div>
<div style="font-size: large;"><font face="times new roman, serif"><font size="4" color="#008000"><b>BOTANICAL
PRODUCTS: </b></font><a rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" href="https://sacredsucculents.com/#products"><b><font color="#0000ff">https://sacredsucculents.com/#products</font></b></a><br><b>__</b></font></div>
<p style="font-size: 14px;"></p><p style="font-size: 14px;"><font face="times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:large;">We are finally
experiencing some cooler weather after a couple weeks of extreme heat.
These sudden heat spikes have been hard on plants here, the latest highs
actually sunburned some of our </span><i style="font-size:large;">Trichocereus</i><span style="font-size:large;">! The heat has also delayed our shipping schedule; currently expect orders to ship about 1-3 weeks </span><i style="font-size:large;">after</i><span style="font-size:large;"> we receive your payment.</span></font></p><p style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-size:large;"><font face="times new roman, serif">Note: Sacred Succulents is currently operating at reduced capacity, we are still not taking seed & PDF catalog orders.</font></span></p>
<p style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="4" face="times new roman, serif"><u>__</u></font></p></div>
<div class="moz-text-html" lang="x-unicode" style="font-size: 14px;"><font face="times new roman, serif"><font size="4"><u>A tale of life's resilience and fragility</u>:<br>
</font><font size="4">In a reversal of the long held belief that the Malvaceous Baobab
tree (<i>Adansonia</i> spp.) originated on mainland Africa and
later dispersed to and diversified on Madagasar -- a new study [ <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07447-4#Abs1"><font color="#0000ff">https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07447-4#Abs1</font></a>
] suggests Baobabs actually originated on Madagascar then
dispersed (via their buoyant pods and the Indian Ocean gyre) to
mainland Africa and north-west Australia (though a fully
satisfactory story of the spread of <i>Adansonia digitata</i>
across thousands of miles of Africa, nearly the entire continent,
is lacking). All 6 of the wondrous Madagascar species of Baobab
(threatened to highly endangered) are anachronisms that likely
evolved with extinct giant lemurs as their prime dispersal agents
-- such as sloth lemurs (<i>Archaeoindris</i> & <i>Palaeopropithecus
</i>spp<i>.</i>) and koala lemurs (<i>Megaladapis</i> spp.). [Up
to gorilla-size, these huge lemurs began going extinct around 2000
years ago, shortly after humans settled on the island, though some
species survived until at least 1000 years ago and possibly as
recently as 500 years ago. See
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" href="https://www.livescience.com/giant-koala-lemur-family-tree.html"><font color="#0000ff">https://www.livescience.com/giant-koala-lemur-family-tree.html</font></a>
&
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2020/june/only-known-drawing-of-extinct-giant-sloth-lemur-found-in-cave.html"><font color="#0000ff">https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2020/june/only-known-drawing-of-extinct-giant-sloth-lemur-found-in-cave.html</font></a> </font><font size="4">A side note: Beat writer William S. Burroughs had a profound affection for lemurs; one our favorite Burroughs stories, <i>Ghost
of Chance</i>, is about a Richard Evans Schultes-like explorer
in Madagascar who eats some psychoptic plant and has visions of
lemur evolution, including what could-have-been if certain
family branches had not been hunted to their end...]</font></font></div>
<div class="moz-text-html" lang="x-unicode" style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="4" face="times new roman, serif">__<br>
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<p style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="4" face="times new roman, serif">Gratitude!</font></p>
<p style="font-size: 14px;"><font face="times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 150%;"></span></font></p><p style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="4" face="times new roman,serif">Ben Kamm &
family<br><br></font></p>
<p style="font-size: 14px;"><font face="times new roman, serif"><font size="5"><b>Sacred Succulents</b>: </font><font size="4">Rare
& Endangered Beneficial Plants & Seeds</font><br class="">
<font size="4"><em class=""><span style="" class="">Conservation of Resilient Biodiversity through
Propagation, Dissemination and Education</span></em><br>
</font> <font size="4"><span style="line-height:150%;"> PO Box
781<br>
Sebastopol, CA 95473 USA<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" href="http://www.sacredsucculents.com/"><font color="#0000ff">http://www.sacredsucculents.com</font></a></span>
<b><font color="#990000"><br>
</font></b></font></font></p>
<p style="font-size: 14px;"><font size="4" face="times new roman, serif"><b><font color="#990000">We do not take Paypal
or other online payments. Still just cash, check or money
order to our PO box.</font></b> <font color="#990000"><b><br>
</b></font></font></p>
<div style="font-size: 14px;"><font face="times new roman, serif">~~~~~~~~~~~~</font></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 14px;"><font face="times new roman, serif"><b><a rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" href="https://www.microcosmssacredplants.org/"><font size="4"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="">MICROCOSMS:</span><span style=""> </span><span style="">A
Homage to Sacred Plants of the Americas</span></span></font></a></b><br>
A stunning hidden dimension of plants revealed through confocal
microscopy.<i><br>
Ben Kamm is a contributing researcher and photographer to this
unique science-art project.</i><i><br>
His commentary on the project</i> -<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" href="https://www.microcosmssacredplants.org/commentary/ben-kamm"> <b> <font color="#0000ff">https://www.microcosmssacredplants.org/commentary/ben-kamm/</font></b></a><i><br>
His article on the Andean keystone tree</i> <i>Polylepis</i>
-<b> </b><b><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" href="https://www.microcosmssacredplants.org/plant/polylepis-spp/"><font color="#0000ff">
https://www.microcosmssacredplants.org/plant/polylepis-spp/</font></a></b></font></p>
<div style="font-size: 14px;"><b><font color="#990000" face="times new roman, serif"><br>
</font></b></div>
<div style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><font face="times new roman, serif"><b>If
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