Cacti Books

[Schrodinger's Khat]

Hey SAB,

I have been growing cacti from seeds and cuttings for a few years now but am definately no expert on the matter and would like to read up.

I have one book but can't find it to name it for you. It's just a basic encyclopedia but has very limited information.

I would like to purchase a few different ones.

What books do you have and what is a must for the cacti bookshelf?

Thank you.

[prier]

UTSE! http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=38104

[Schrodinger's Khat]

So just one single book?..

Looks pretty good mind you.

[Evil Genius]

Yes, only one. Don´t waste money on older books if you are not a taxonomist and want to learn about the History of Cactus Classification. The Cactus Lexicon will be re-worked again in a few years and until then, there is not really an alternative. Of course only apart from taxonomical Journals from the Societies of the corresponding countries.

We are the first to have the opportunity to use genetic testing to clarify some misconceptions in Taxonomy and since this feature is available, there were made some really important changes in the system. And that´s why the older books may be fun to read but not usable for ID.

Edited April 4, 2014 by Evil Genius

[zelly]

I totally disagree with both prier & EG.

Buy & acquire all the books on cacti you can possible acquire. Many exist online in pdf format and you can pick up used books reasonably priced. I personally prefer real, hard bound or paperback books versus the pdf versions.

In hardbound/paperback, I have the 2 volume set of 2006 The New Cactus Lexicon;

The Cactus Family by Edward F Anderson;

Teratopia, The World of Cristate & Variegated Succulents by Gordon Rowley;

Peyote the Divine Cactus by Edward F Anderson;

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cacti & Other Succulents by J. Riha & R Subik;

Sacramental & Medicinal Cacti by MSSmith;

The World Encyclopedia of Cacti & Succulents by Miles Anderson,

Garden of Eden by Snu Vooglebriender

and a bunch of others, including some Kactusy Specials.

Kactusy Special 2, 2005 is all about habitat Lophs & Kactusy Special 2, 2002 is all about habitat Ario's.

Not any one book has everything in it, including the highly over rated 2 volume set of 2006 The New Cactus Lexicon.

Most people dont really give a shit if its called trichocereus one day and echinopsis the next. The goal is to learn all about the particular plant, how & where it grows, growth & flowering characteristics, perhaps the alkaloid contents, and how to recognize one when you see one.

If you're looking for books with pretty pictures & not much else, get the Illustrations version of The New Cactus Lexicon

If you want a rock solid book crammed full of every bit of information possible (including alkaloids) on trichos (but no pictures), get Snu's book.

If you want a well rounded book with color pictures AND well defined taxonomy, get The Cactus Family by Anderson.

Here's a quote from MSSmiths book, information that you probably wont find in any other book:

Senecio elatus is a known additive for the San Pedro tea made from Trichocereus pachanoi. Due to the large number of Senecio peyote species, it seems likely that this genus would produce interesting pharmacological results.

I have a single report from New Zealand stating that S. articulatus is (censored) and has been stolen from cultivators, presumably to be used as a (censored) agent.

Books are like tools; do you seriously only want one tool in your tool box?

[MrDoRight]

I have the book : "500 Cacti Species and Variations in Cultivation and IMO as far as identifying cactus goes , the books are extremely useful. My book only has 500 , but it has alot of genus"s so it helps me recognize what kind of cactus I'm looking at

[Evil Genius]

Well, there are two sides to every story. I have an extensive cactus library and i love reading every book i can get. But i am not normal. The books you named are all wonderful reads and of course you are right. If he can afford buying them, he should. But for learning Ids, i think its not essential. In fact, it would be good if he'd learn the new system first because reading about five taxonomic systems at the same time can seriously mess up your overview. But some fantastic reads on your list! The cactus lexicon from Andersson is great too! And some of the other books are really rare and if he can get his hands on them he should!

[Heretic]

I found Adam Gottlieb's " Peyote and other Psychoactive Cacti " to be very useful for growing cacti - easy to follow , informative , and only about $ 20 if you shop around ...

[prier]

Eg you summed up what I was going to say pretty much perfectly.