500 Cacti: Species and Varieties in Cultivation [Hardcover]

Ken Preston-Mafham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 12, 2007

A visual reference to 500 cacti.

The cactus family includes more than 2,500 species of cacti, succulents, caudiciforms and euphorbs. Native to the Americas, they are at least 50 million years old and highly advanced in their evolution. Not all are desert plants. Some are found in the rainforest, where they enjoy the heavy rainfall and grow much more vigorously than their desert cousins. Many cacti are very popular with rock gardeners and houseplant enthusiasts.

This new book features 500 species representing all cactus groups. The cacti are arranged alphabetically by scientific genus, with an entire page devoted to each species. At-a-glance information includes size, distribution, spination, flower and flowering time, plus varieties and synonyms used. Detailed descriptions reveal the amazing adaptations cacti have made, such as:

• Stems with waterproof skin to store water
• Far-reaching, shallow root systems
• Leaves that are shed during a drought
• Spines toward off predators.

The author provides professional advice on growing these plants at home. Among the 500 color photographs that appear in the book are stunning shots of cacti in bloom.

500 Cacti is a useful reference for all who admire these long-living and distinctive plants.

(20080101)

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book is a handy reference to bring when shopping for your landscape. (Phoenix Home and Garden 200707)

Colour photos are so attractive that even the fervent anti-cacti people may be won over. (Grand magazine (Waterloo) 20070614)

Absolutely stunning.... user-friendly. This handsome book is ideal for both the novice cacti lover as well as the seasoned pro. (Tucson Citizen 20071018)

The photographs are magnificent.... would be of value to anyone who grows any cacti. (Asbury Park Press )

Pleasingly displayed data...stunning photographs... will tempt collectors to add it to their personal libraries... An elegant little volume... Highly recommended. (Linda D. Tietjen American Reference Books Annual 2008 )

An encyclopedic look at this family of succulents. (Vivela Neveln The American Gardener )

500 Cacti is a useful reference for all who admire these long-living and distinctive plants. (icangarden.com )

About the Author

Ken Preston-Mafham is a naturalist, author and photographer. He lives in England, where he has grown cacti for more than 30 years. His previous books include Cacti and Succulents in Habitat and Cacti: The Illustrated Dictionary.

(2009)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 528 pages
• Publisher: Firefly Books (April 12, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1554072611
• ISBN-13: 978-1554072613
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 6.2 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #313,626 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #13 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Plants > Cacti & Succulents

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A VERY HANDY BOOK TO HAVE AROUND., June 8, 2007

By 

D. Blankenship (The Ozarks) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 500 Cacti: Species and Varieties in Cultivation (Hardcover)

This is quite an impressive little book. As the title tells us, it addresses 500 cacti. Now no book can cover them all. There are thousands of cacti genus out there. This work though goes along way in giving good information to the amature collector, grower, or in my case, photographer of these wonderful plants. The book is set up alphabetically by genus, but the wonderful photographs are just as valuable indentification. The book is filled with good growing and collecting tips. It is set up more like a field guide than a gardening book, something I find quite useful. The photographs are of good quality and when ever possible, show the plant in bloom. This is certainly one you will want to add to your collection.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great photographs and cactus reference all in a great size!, July 5, 2009

By 

S. Anderson (Ohio, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 500 Cacti: Species and Varieties in Cultivation (Hardcover)

I collect and grow cactus and feel this would be a great book to have in anyone's library of reference books. I cross checked some of this book's data with Edward Anderson's book, The Cactus Family "The Cactus Family" and found them to be accurate. "The Cactus Family" is considered by most to be THE definitive cactus resource.

Nearly all the photographs include a flower, but also have at least some of the body of the cactus which helps for identification purposes. The book is also laid out very nicely. Each page has a sidebar that includes anatomical data such as spine count, flowering time, and geographical distribution.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not exactly what I was looking for..., July 13, 2010

By 

Mrs. K "From the wilds of the Mojave" (Mojave Desert, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 500 Cacti: Species and Varieties in Cultivation (Hardcover)

I was a little disappointed with the book. To be honest, I purchased this book to help identify the cheapo cacti I have purchased. Quite a few of the plants didn't have any kind of label on them for identifying their species. I live in the Mojave Desert where it gets cold in the wintertime. So it's a crapshoot on whether to keep them in pots so I can move them indoors for the winter or plant them in the ground.

While I was able to identify two of my $2.47 plants, I then had to go online to get the information I needed about whether it would survive in my climate. Many of the plants I couldn't identify didn't survive the winter or my rodents, so it's a moot point now. The golden barrel doing great and the old woman of the Andes is hanging on, so I'll stick to what works.

Most of the book is taken up with rare species, apparently collected by the author on numerous trips to super remote parts of the Andes. Not what a beginning cactus enthusiast is going to find at Home Depot. It's also pretty lacking, for me, in native North American cacti -- in which I am very interested.

So, if you're interested in learning about a newly discovered South American species that was discovered from a boat while the valley it lives in was flooding after the construction of a dam, go ahead and buy this book. But if you're trying to figure out the little pincushion cactus from the succulent garden your Mom brought back from Arizona, see if you can find this book at the library. But you'll probably do better looking online.