Reference book for ID

[Jude]

Any advice welcomed, on reference book with lots of pictures to help with ID. Amazon has lots listed, but it's difficult to assess their customer reviews. I've been offered a book as a birthday present (21 again) so might as well get something good. Thanks.

[Thord]

Hi Jude. There is of course The New Cactus Lexicon(David Hunt&et al.)
Also The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cacti (Clive Innes&Charlie Glass).All pictures aren´t good,but there is also text on cultivation and identification,and text to every species. Then there is Cactus Handbook (Tony Sato)with an enormuos amount of pictures but no text.The pictures are generally quite good and he´s a bit of a splitter.
I think you may find them all at Keiths,Amazon or Rainbow Gardens.
Good Luck and Happy Birthday!

[Phil White]

Hi Jude,
For cactus a very good book that you should be able to get fairly cheap is - CACTI The Illustrated Dictionary by Rod & Ken Preston-Mafham. A bit dated but still worth it.
Just checked on Amazon & there are a couple of used books for around £15(posted) which I think would be a good investment for you.
HTH

[Phil_SK]

I agree with the Preston-Mafham book. Provided you're not bothered about columnar plants or Opuntia - it only deals with the globular ones.

[nirwa]

Hi Jude,
The New Cactus Lexicon is not so suitable for the plants in cultivation. Because its photos are mostly plants in the wild. The same species might looks quite different in the wild and in a greenhouse. Even though, you still make it a good reference book with lots of pictures.

CACTI The Illustrated Dictionary and The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cacti are also the nice reference books. But the second one is out of print. Only used-books available. It's hard to find a new one.

As Thord mentioned, Cactus Handbook by Tony Sato is another good choice of reference book you can consider.

[Mal H]

I agree with the recommendation of the Rod & Ken Preston-Mafham book, another by Ken Preston-Mafham called "500 CACTI" is a very nice, handy sized book with big pictures of.....500 cacti, mostly in cultivation. No good for cultivation advice though, just a pics book.


Mal.

[Phil_SK]

For information, the older book by them claims to have documented and photographed over 1100 species and varieties.

[DaveW]

You could try your local library service and get them to borrow the books you want and see which you prefer, then buy it. A sort of "try before you buy" if you are unable to see them in a shop first.

The library usually tries to fob you off with a cactus book they have on their shelves though so you have to insist it's that particular one you want on special order.

Seem to remember in the dim distant past I even borrowed Backeberg's Die Cactaceae through our local library, and it was stamped as belonging to a university. Whether they are as accommodating these days I do not know.

DaveW

[Phil_SK]

[quote=DaveW]The library usually tries to fob you off with a cactus book they have on their shelves[/quote]

Unless, like my library, they don't actually have any cactus books.

[iann]

Nobody mentioned The Cactus Family?