The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cacti: Over 1200 Species Illustrated and Identified [Hardcover]

Clive Times (Author), Charles Glass (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2001

Huge book of cactus. Tons of great photos.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Chartwell Books (2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785813586
• ISBN-13: 978-0785813583
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #245,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #12 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Plants > Cacti & Succulents
  • #52 in Books > Education & Reference > Encyclopedias > Gardening

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great tool to identify your cacti, March 18, 2002

By 

Luis F Lupian (the Solar System) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cacti: Over 1200 Species Illustrated and Identified (Hardcover)

I'm an avid cactus collector and I get most of my cacti from the local supermarkets and greenhouses. Most of these stores will sell you the plant but will not give you any information about it. This is the reason why I needed a book that would help me identify my cacti and give me care instructions specific to each species. Well, that is exactly what this book will do for you.

The author of the book makes no assumptions about your background (you don't need to be a biologist or anything to benefit from it).

The very first section provides a guide that helps you narrow down the possible genera of your cacti by simply looking at its basic shape and other visible characteristics (like type of spines, number of ribs, type of clustering, etc.). Once you've chosen a set of possible genera, you go to the main section and look inside the chapter corresponding to each of the genera you chose. Inside each chapter you will find an item for each species that belongs to that genus. Each of these items contains a color photograph which will make it very easy to make a final decision about what species your cactus belongs to.

Each item will give you additional information like a list of synonyms for the species, a brief paragraph describing the plant, its country of origin, cultivation details, the shape of the plant (when fully grown), it tells you whether it is day or night flowering, the length of the flowering period, how much light it needs, the type of compost it needs, and the minimum temperature required.

As a bonus, the book contains a brief section about cultivation techniques (only four pages long).

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good reference work, good coffee-table book, February 28, 2003

By 

Robert M. Peffer (West Sacramento, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cacti: Over 1200 Species Illustrated and Identified (Hardcover)

This book is an excellent work for identification of cactus. It describes the proper growing conditions separately for each species, including sun vs. shade, kind of soil and hardiness to cold.

Nearly every variety of nearly every genera is listed and shown, with more than one picture of the cactus, if necessary, to facilitate identification (generally, one of the whole plant, one of the flower). Very complete descriptions of the cacti are provided, including the number and color of the thorns and other minutae.

The book has a handy finding-guide in the front, arranged by gross features (columnar vs. barrel vs. sprawling, etc.) to make it as easy as possible to identify an unknown plant.

Cactus from all environments are covered, including tropical, epiphytic and desert varieties.

Note that cacti, like all plants, are ultimately identified by their flowers; in particular, two cacti from much different native climates - and requiring much different cultivation environments - often look very similar; it is the flowers that distinguish them. This book cannot erase that reality - many cacti (again, like any other plant) cannot be fully identified unless they are in bloom.

This book is also not a tutorial for growing cacti. ...

This Illustrated Encyclopedia is a reference work, though the beautiful pictures make it an excellent coffee-table book as well. Indeed, opening the book randomly to nearly any page reveals breathtaking photography of cacti at their finest.

If you want to have no more that _two_ books on growing cacti, I recommend this Illustrated Encyclopedia ....