These books are available to Rother Valley Branch members ONLY and should be requested via email at least a day before a meeting. The owner will bring the book to the next meeting they attend or arrange another way of getting it to you.
The list below is arranged in three groups: cacti, succulents, and books that cover both plant groups. Each section comprises General books, those on a specific Genus (or group), book about Habitat plants, and books that cover Taxonomy.
All are current or recent books. Our ‘old timers’ also have many of the books from the 1970s but these are much less useful these days as the taxonomy if often out of date and all have black and white or poor-quality colour photographs. If you want to know more about cacti and succulents you should really read the latest publications but if you fancy a trip down memory lane, please get in touch to see what we have.
PLEASE NOTE:
• Books are generously loaned by our own members and remain their property.
• Please handle with care and do not remove any protective cover that a book may come in.
• You may borrow a book for ONE MONTH and you should try to return it to the lender at the next meeting. If you can’t make it, please email the lender (using the Branch email address) to let them know.
Books on Cacti
TYPE |
TITLE |
AUTHOR (year) |
SUMMARY |
| General | The Great Cacti – Ethnobotany & Biogeography | David Yetman | An interesting book that looks at the huge specimens found across North and South America. |
| Genus | Christmas Cacti | AJS McMillan & JF Horobin (1995) | Subtitled ‘The genus Schlumbergera and its hybrids’ sums up this book. If you are into this group of cacti, this is the book for you, although it’s quite academic in style, with photographs and botanical illustrations. |
| Genus | Gymnocalycium in Habitat and Culture | Graham Charles (2009) | An expert on several cactus genera, including this one, the author’s professional background in publishing shows in this well-produced book. It’s not bedtime reading and definitely a reference book, but if you decide to grow these cacti in a serious way you will want to get hold of a copy. A book on Matucana is due out soon from the same author. |
| Genus | Mammillaria Now & Again | John Pilbeam (2017) | Another self-published book by this prolific author. There is much debate about the taxonomy of this genus so don’t expect it to be 100% accurate. |
| Genus | Rhipsalis & Lepismium | Frank Supplie | In German and rather dodgy English, this may be handy if you like growing these genera. As well as cultivation tips, there is a list of species. |
| Genus | Small Opuntias | John Pilbeam & Michael Partridge | An excellent review of the more manageable members of the Opuntioideae. Again, it is self-published and although the photographic reproduction is not the best in places, and the book is not comprehensive, it’s a good starting point if you are interested in these plants. The book goes through 13 genera one by one and ends with a few pages of wildlife photographs. |
| Genus | The Genera Pediocactus, Navajoa, Toumeya | Fritz Hochstatter (2007) | The title demonstrates how cactus taxonomy has become muddled, the first two genera now being in the first, and the third in several others. The quirky layout is rather distracting. |
| Genus | The Genus Sclerocactus | Fritz Hochstatter (2005) | A group of VERY difficult cacti that are grown only by the brave or foolhardy, but worth a look. Same odd layout as his other book. |
| Genus | Turbinicarpus – Rapicactus | David Donati & Carlo Zanovello (2005) | The first genus is popular with many members and species are small and relatively easy to grow. Rapicactus is a related genus but the two genera are used interchangeably. |
| Habitat | Mapping the Cacti of Mexico I & II | Hector M Hernandez & Carlos Gomez-Hinostrosa (2011) | More of an academic book on the results of a survey of cacti across Mexico. If you are planning to go there, this is the book for you! |
| Taxonomy | Taxonomy of the Cactaceae (2 volumes) | Ed. Joel Lode | Regarded by many as a usurper to David Hunt’s definitive work on cacti, it is based on DNA analysis. The first half of each volume goes through every genus in turn, explaining the origins of the name and the botanical features, and listing the species. The second half is a collection of photographs of a great many of the species. It’s a mammoth work which the author has self-published so one can forgive the rather idiosyncratic graphic design. |
| Taxonomy | The Cactus Family | Edward F. Anderson (2001) | This book follows the classification of the International Cactaceae Systematics Group of which Dr Anderson was a member. It is quite comprehensive and if you are looking for something a bit smaller than the Lode tomes (although it’s still large at over 750 pages) then this may be for you. Well designed with good photographs, it’s probably more accessible than the Lode volumes. |
| Taxonomy | The New Cactus Lexicon | David Hunt (ed.) (2013) | Compiled and edited by members of the International Cactaceae Systematics Group led by the late David Hunt, this was first published in 2006 in two volumes under his imprimatur. Despite continued disagreement over the taxonomy of cacti, it is regarded by many as the definitive work. It is now out of print and since the death of Dr Hunt in 2019 it’s not clear if and when it might be republished. The Illustrations volume shown here was published in 2013 and you may still find it for sale. It has lots of photographs so is a good reference work. |
Books on Succulents
TYPE |
TITLE |
AUTHOR (year) |
SUMMARY |
| General | Field Guide to Succulents in Southern Africa | Gideon F Smith (2017) | Don’t worry if you’re not heading off the South Africa soon to explore the flora, this book is a handy size and a more manageable guide to the main succulents families (using the most recent names) and key species, and includes families and genera you may not have thought of as succulents. It even includes cacti which are introduced plants of course. Some of the photographs are quite small but the book is pretty accessible for the novice. |
| General | Secrets of Namaqualand Succulents | Floreny Grenier (2019) | A translation of the French edition. Apart from the rather quirky typography (including some of the author’s own handwriting – fortunately rather neat!), the whole approach of the book is somewhat different to all the others. It looks at diversity, the various species (by family), habitats (including geological aspects), survival against all that man and nature throws at them, and reproduction. It’s a mix of traditional botany, systematics, ecology, geography, geology and open-toed-sandal evangelism. If there’s any book you might want to sit up in bed and read it’s this one. |
| General | Succulent Flora of Southern Africa | Doreen Court (2010) | The third edition of this book looks at eight plant families (five of the big seven) in a sort of catalogue way. Not comprehensive but informative and interesting. |
| General | Succulents of Southern Africa | Robin Frandsen (2017) | This book is structured by plant family, beginning with the Asphodelaceae and ending with the virtually impossible-to-grow Welwitschiaceae (of which there is only one species). Along the way, the author covers the main groups, albeit using a number of the old family names but that doesn’t matter. It is well laid out, despite the nightmare it must have been to copy fit around all the excellent photographs of differing shapes and sizes. Since the vast majority of greenhouse succulents come from Southern Africa, you will find most of what you need here. |
| General | Succulents Plants of the World | Fred Dotort (2011) | This is probably the best guide to succulents in general, not just the African ones. The book is structured in chapters which represent the main groupings, not by plant family, and is more accessible to the non-botanist for this reason. It includes some bromeliads and bulbs too, as well as some outlier succulent genera such as Begonia, Tradescantia and Sinningia. While some may disagree with the groupings, it is a very useful starting point if you are getting into succulents in a big way. |
| Genus | A Gallery of Agaves (including variegates) | John Pilbeam (2013) | A well-illustrated book solely on this large genus of New World succulents. |
| Genus | Adromischus | John Pilbeam & Derek Tribble (1998) | The seminal work on this popular genus of succulents in the Crassulaceae family. |
| Genus | Aloes: The Definitive Guide | S. Carter, et al (2011) | A Kew publication which quickly went out of print but it has not been reprinted, which is a shame. There are so many species of Aloe that the genus is rather bewildering but the book groups them by form, such as grass aloes, stemless aloes and tree aloes. The book is beautifully designed, as you would expect from Kew, and is the seminal work on this popular genus. You may already know that the genus Aloe has been split up thanks to DNA evidence, with a number of new genera created, so this book is technically out of date. |
| Genus | Geophytic Pelargoniums | Charles Craib | Covers just one group of this genus, the Hoarea, which are the succulent (caudiciform) species. Botanical illustrations, mostly colour, make more sense than photographs. |
| Genus | Guide to the Aloes of South Africa | Ben-Erik van Wyk & Gideon F Smith (2014) | Third edition of this useful and interesting book. The plants are divided into 12 different forms from tree aloes to bulbous species. |
| Genus | Stapeliads | John Pilbeam (2010) | If you’ve ever tried to grow these plant and failed, this book will just make you more depressed! You are probably never going to be able to grow these successfully but there are some fascinating species in this book. |
| Genus | The Southern African Plectranthus | Ernst van Jaarsveld (2006) | A rather obscure genus of plants in the mint family. Several have swollen roots and P. ernestii is often found in collections and for sale. |
| Genus | The Genus Ceropegia | Dennie de Kock | Overwhelmingly flower photographs as they are the most interesting feature of this genus. Quite exquisite but it’s not easy to get hold of most species so you can only admire from afar. |
| Habitat | Succulent and Xerophytic Plants of Madagascar | Werner Rauh (1995 & 1998) | Two spectacular tomes on the amazing and unique flora of this island. Collectors tend not to grow Madagascan succulents specifically so these books (if you can still find them) are really reference works and fascinating to leaf through. |
Books Covering Cacti & Succulents
TYPE |
TITLE |
AUTHOR (year) |
SUMMARY |
| General | Cacti & Succulents | Gideon Smith (2006) | A novice guide to cultivation and the more common species. |
| General | Cacti & Succulents for Cold Climates | Leo J Chance (2012) | Useful if you want to try growing plants outside, but you’ll still need a shelter here in the UK to keep them dry (it’s written for US growers). |
| General | Cacti & Succulents of Baja California | John Pilbeam (2015) | An interesting guide to this region in the US. The photographs are not of great quality which let it down, but it’s worth a look. |
| General | Succulents Propagation | Attila Kapitany & Rudolf Schulz | A comprehensive guide which starts off simply and gets more adventurous, including aplical core drilling and grafting. While it’s predominantly ‘other succulents’, cacti are also included. |