The Cactus and Succulent Plant Mall
The Cactus and Succulent Plant Mall

CSSA VOL.81, July-August 2009 No.4
Cephalium-bearing and globular cacti of eastern Brazil Part 2.Marlon C Machado
Camelhair brush confidential : Hybridizing FouquieriaDaniel Houston & Joseph Stead
Conophytum confessional : Three new species from South AfricaSteven A.Hammer
Under Discussion : Crassula Part 1: Trees, shrubs, and necklacesFred Dortort
Book Review : Gymnocalycium by Graham CharlesMassimo Meregalli
Book Review : Adenium : Sculptural Elegance, Floral Extravagance by Mark Dimmitt, Gene Joseph and David PalzkilBrian Kemble
The search for Madagascar's Aloe andringitrensis And a chance encounter with Perrierosedum madagascarienseKelly Griffin
Stylothelae dilemmas, old and newW.A. & Betty Fitz Maurice
Succulents on stamps Opuntia, Part 3Peg Spaete

On the cover Unsatisfied with the slow trickle of succulent novelties, a few intrepid succulentists turn to hybridizing in search of new forms and flowers, and from their efforts have come some of the most vigorous, beautiful, and prized succulent collectibles. Recent efforts at hybridizing members of the genus Fouquieria - a genus of spiny, xerophytic trees popular with fat-plant collectors-have produced plants with a surprising degree of hybrid vigor. Our cover features a hybrid newly-named in this issue, Fouquieria 'Pink Instead', a play on the name of chief hybridizer, Joe Stead, and a reference to the plant's pink flowers, which are a perfect intermediate between the white flowers of the seed parent, F.purpusii, and the carmine blooms of the pollen donor, F.macdougalii. And amazingly, this vigorous hybrid can grow a meter in its first year (imagine the opportunities this presents for bonsai training!), and seedlings may flower in their second growing season. Dan Houston captured our cover image and, in the accompanying article, takes us through the process of producing this and other crosses, a little-explored avenue of breeding with a great deal of promise.

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