This Handbook is the first specialist, English-language publication to cover all the known species of Copiapoa. Restricted to the arid conditions of the coastline of northern Chile, members of the genus Copiapoa have adapted to survive in some of the most inhospitable of all known cactus habitats.
The 80-page Handbook includes 34 distribution maps and 106 colour photographs, illustrating in colour all of the recognized species and varieties of Copiapoa, with pictures showing the plants growing both in the wild and in cultivation. This shows clearly the physical differences between plants growing in habitat in Chile, and those in cultivation in Europe. In cultivation the epidermis may be a different colour than in habitat, spine development can be much weaker, and even the shape of the plant stem can be deceptively different, with some species showing a tendency to elongate in cultivation. Such factors can make identification difficult, but the inclusion of photographs of so many plants in cultivation, alongside pictures of the same species growing in habitat, provides enthusiasts of these highly desirable plants with an unrivalled aid to the identification of the Copiapoa plants in their collection.
Alongside the illustrations, in the 'Commentary on Species' (the main chapter of the book), all aspects of the plants are discussed in detail, including a full description, details of variation, observations of wild populations and environmental pressures, cultural guidelines, details of synonyms, etc. Individual maps showing the recorded habitat distributions for each species and variety are included too
