CSSA VOL.81, January-February 2009 No.1 Some succulent memories art 8: A new sponsor for the ISI Myron Kimnach Opuntia fragilis in Iowa Eric Ribbens & Verónica Flores L Pierrebraunia bahiensis A rare Brazilian cactus _flowers in cultivation Bob Ressler Combatting cactus clearance on Curaçao Sophie Petit Succulent savvy, southern style Amanda Campbell After a few wet years in southern New Mexico Root Gorelick Lithops-From seed to scanner bed Part 3. From sprout to first true leaves D Russell Wagner & Steven A Hammer Graptopetalum mendozae Miguel Chazaro-Basanez & Raul Acevedo-Rosas Cactus tips from a master grower: The Lobivia Clan Elton Roberts Looking Sharp Hand-held digital closeups Irwin Lightstone Succulents on Stamps: Opuntia, Part I Peg Spaete

On the cover Mammillaria prolifera and its subspecies can be found from Haiti (and possibly Cuba), throughout eastern Mexico, and into southern Texas along the Rio Grande. And while it looks like a wintery scene when it appears in fruit on the cover of the January-February issue of the Journal, don't take this as in indication that you should be watering your cacti during their winter rest. This plant's small cream-colored flowers begin to emerge in early spring, and Michael Newberry captured this shot mid-summer following a southern-Arizona monsoon. While flowers and fruits are often present simultaneously, it's fair to say that the fruits are more showy. And like most cactus fruits, they're edible too-tangy, with a seedy crunch. Most people don't bother sewing the seeds, since clumping mamms are so easy to propagate. From a single offset, clumps of heads, each less than 5 cm across, will vigorously fill a shallow 6" pot in a matter of years, ready to be broken up and shared some more.