cactus

Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens Supplement 3 (2015). The State Herbarium of South Australia has now published the first part of Bob Chinnock’s revision of weedy cacti in Australia.

Little information on the environment in which cacti naturally grow has ever been available to collectors and growers of cacti. This book, while mainly written for more experienced collectors of cacti who wish to know more about the much prized genus Copiapoa, should also appeal to beginning collectors of cacti and lovers of nature who wish to understand cacti in their dry, often desert, environments. The second part of the book contains specific information obtained from fieldwork undertaken by the authors during 1994 and 1996. Specific populations between El Cobre and Chañaral are investigated for density, health, variability, soils, fruiting, seed production, and more. Other cacti and succulents that co-exist with Copiapoas are also covered. Populations investigated and photographed are documented as to their precise latitude and longitude so that in future years researchers can return to the same sites for further studies.

All of the content is written to help the reader understand how Copiapoas survive in their harsh surroundings and to give an appreciation of the fragility and special nature of their environment.