Mr Stay Puft Posted May 26, 2009 G'day all, getting closer to the end of a botany degree and am interested in pursuing plant taxonomy... if all goes well hopefully in family Cactaceae... either way i am fascinated by this family and would like to purchase some books... Would like to know peoples opinions on books worth buying... now i am specifically after taxonomy related books that include keys to tribes/genera/species with descriptive details and figures on flower morphology etc... (i am trying to get a picture of where taxonomy is at this point in time) so i don't really want trivial books that have lists of common species with a few pictures... really want to get into depth here Any help would be appreciated! Thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chiral Posted May 26, 2009 Sorry to side track just a tinsy bit....but how long has it taken you to do a Botany degree...? H. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cactophyle Posted May 26, 2009 I'm no botanist, but a cactus collector and enthusiast. I think a good starting point is Britton & Rose. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KanJe Posted May 27, 2009 The New Cactus Lexicon Check out the web page for other books too. There's some other good ones there too. Another one worth noting is Teratopia: The World of Cristate and Variegated Succulents. Another good place to get books is Rainbow books. It's good if you want specific books on certain genera. Rainbow Book price List Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cactophyle Posted May 27, 2009 Wow, I was under the impression that there were no recent books classifying cacti as thoroughly as The New Cactus Lexicon appears to do. My (non-botanist) impression has been that most people really aren't interested in cacti enough to classify them as thoroughly as other plants and animals have been already. I do know there is still plenty of work to be done, so I think it is a great area of study! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zelly Posted May 27, 2009 Ouch! That's one hot sizzling book!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kadakuda Posted May 27, 2009 Cactus Lexicon and The cactus Family by Anderson (also new) are the 2 top books at this time. seems Andersons is more widely used, at least from what i hear from people. Britton and Rose is worthwhile, but very old. You can get free PDF's of all volumes if you google it. Aside from those on taxonomy you are going to have to buy/collect many smaller books and journals to get more specific things on new species, revisions etc. Cacti are not very streamlined as far as taxonomy goes, and you will find yourself with huge lists of books to get. also with some cacti, as with other families, there may be more than one classification for the same plant (Like our beloved Lophophora) and its up to you to decide which reasoning you like i guess. There is also more DNA work being done and chemotaxonomy which looks cool, but again it is not so broad as the family, usually just selected species and maybe genera. Personally i find most BOOKS dealing with cacti taxonomy to be lacking a LOT in their specie descriptions, at least on the visual end. cacti descriptions leave a lot up to the imagination sometimes....so for morphology type things you may want to try a book called "Cacti: Biology and Uses" by park s. novel. also check his other books and articles. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Stay Puft Posted May 27, 2009 i am double majoring in botany/plant biotechnology and biochemistry, with additional studies in molecular and evolutionary/ecological genetics... so the plan is to take cactus classification one step further and use DNA/biochemical analysis on top of what we already know. For Hunab it is a three year degree... i intend to do post grad studies, i would love to do these in the states so anyone who knows of universities that have an interest in plant taxonomy (especially cactaceae) i would appreciate the info as i need to start making contacts asap... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teotzlcoatl Posted May 28, 2009 (edited) so the plan is to take cactus classification one step further and use DNA/biochemical analysis on top of what we already know. Let me be the first to say- THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Please see my "Lost Peyotls" Thread!!!! Edited May 28, 2009 by Teotz' Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mutant Posted May 30, 2009 check gigapedia.com you have to register to get the goodies though... then search for cactus and succulents. It its is worth is it's got both books on cacti&succulents as well as for mushrooms Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
