Cactus botany books

[Greenlarry]

Anyone know of any books on cacti that aren't just guides but rather deal with the botanical side of cacti? I did borrow a cacti guide from the library a few years ago that had in depth chapters on cactus physiology but I can't remember the author.

[Phil_SK]

Buxbaum in the 1950s did lots of the legwork and one of his books is available online http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=m ... =1up;seq=1
Depending on what you call 'botanical' you may find something of interest at https://cactuspro.com/biblio/

[Tony R]

Gibson and Noble
'The Cactus Primer'
is the one for me!

eg http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cactus-Primer-A ... 0674089914

[DaveW]

Depends what you mean by the botanical side? Do you mean dealing with the botanical structure of the plants, then Buxbaum's Morphology as Phil links to, or Mauseth in the link below (click on the links in the left hand column for further pages):-

http://www.sbs.utexas.edu/mauseth/resea ... uction.htm

If you mean books containing proper botanical descriptions of the plants as well as pictures rather than just being beginners Coffee Table picture books then things like The New Cactus Lexicon, the original two volume work not the cheaper picture book form.

You used to be able to borrow such expensive books through your local library system if you put in a special order (not sure if you have to pay though, or if they still do it) and don't allow the librarian to try and fob you off with beginners cactus books they have on their shelves.

Years ago I borrowed Die Cactaceae that way and Philippi's Florula Atacamensis and they both were obtained from a university library by my own library on loan for me to borrow, being returned to the university afterwards. As said though, local libraries seem reluctant to do this if they can fob you off with something in their local system since one cactus book is the same as another to most librarians. Probably it costs the local library system to do this, therefore you don't have to be side-tracked into accepting other than the publication you want.

[nobby]

Depends on your knowledge of foreign languages.
You may have a look here:
http://www.dkg.eu/cms/cs/index.pl?navid ... MAhgEX4TLS

Regards Nobby

[Christian]

Darlington Libaries charge a fiver for inter-library loans, see:

http://www2.darlington.gov.uk/c/documen ... upId=10158

Well worth using this service, but you will need to specify exactly what you are after.

Some really interesting suggestions - I'd add Wilhelm Barthlott's book "Cacti" which you should be able to snap up cheaply from sellers at Abebooks, or else Keith Larkin might have copies available.

[Detlev]

If you really want a technical book on the botany of cacti, I agree with Tony R: the "Cactus primer" of Gibson & Nobel is the best one available!
I would recommend also "Cacti: Biology and Uses" of Park S. Nobel. ISBN 978-0520231573.
When you have deeper interest in ecology and physiology, look for "Environmental Biology of Agaves and Cacti" from Park S. Nobel, too. ISBN 978-0521543347.
The definitive work on the North American cacti, with detailed chapters about morphology, ecology and biogeography, is "The Cacti of the United States and Canada" from Lyman D. Benson. ISBN 978-0804708630.
If you are interested in biogeography, look for "Biogeography and biodiversity of cacti" by Wilhelm Barthlott et al., published in Schumannia (http://www.dkg.eu/cms/cs/index.pl?navid=1306).

[Greenlarry]

Darlington Libaries charge a fiver for inter-library loans, see:

http://www2.darlington.gov.uk/c/documen ... upId=10158

Well worth using this service, but you will need to specify exactly what you are after.

Some really interesting suggestions - I'd add Wilhelm Barthlott's book "Cacti" which you should be able to snap up cheaply from sellers at Abebooks, or else Keith Larkin might have copies available.

Oh don't mention the library. Due to budget cuts it is being closed! A grade 2 listed building too!

[DaveW]

Not just budget cuts, I suspect library use is declining since they mirror printed newspapers and journals because people are now reading books online rather than in paper form. I see the Independent newspaper is now stopping producing a printed edition and going solely online. The problem for all publishers of printed material is that people will no longer pay as much, or even want to pay anything for online publications, therefore they are not as profitable, but then they do save the printing and distribution costs. However sales and reading of such printed publications are now falling, therefore they have to go online or eventually die.

As with many other things today, why would people turn out in the cold to go to a library if they can read the publication online? It's only we traditionalists that have got used to publications in printed form. Even when I used to use the so called local reference library many years ago, which was their claimed reason for being ratepayer subsidised since they were supposed to be educational, 95% of their stock was fiction since most users seemed to just borrow cheap fiction rather than anything factual or mind stretching. Therefore it's debatable whether council tax payers should subsidise such reading anymore since those readers can now use a Kindle to easily obtain it.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media ... 69736.html

[Greenlarry]

Its not just our libraries that are closing, theyre getting rid of the indoor market too!
But at least the books in the library are going to a different venue- the library will be re opening in the Doplhin Centre across the way. To be honest the library has gone down hill rapidly over the last few years so it was probably inevitable. But its the fate of the building that annoys most people. Grade 2 listed and given to the people of Darlington when it was built in the 19th century!