Fabulous reads – Enter the fascinating world of succulents
Book review - Field Guide to Succulents in Southern Africa by Gideon F Smith, Neil R Crouch and Estrela Figueiredo.
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Field Guide to Succulents in Southern Africa, Gideon F Smith, Neil R Crouch and Estrela Figueiredo, Penguin Random House, ISBN: 9781775843672
SUCCULENTS are, generally speaking, plants that accumulate and store water in their roots, stems or leaves which help them survive droughts.
Besides being good candidates for water-wise gardens, they are so interesting as they grow in bizarre forms. Southern Africa is the natural home of the richest and most diverse succulent flora in the world.
These plants come in all shapes and sizes, from trees such as the baobab at more than 20 m tall, to miniature soil huggers, just a few millimetres high, which mimic their pebble-desert surroundings.
This user-friendly, richly illustrated field guide features more than 700 Southern African succulents, focusing on the most interesting and commonly encountered species.
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An introduction to families and their key features will help readers identify the relevant plant group, while concise accounts describing the plants’ diagnostic features, along with distribution maps, will enable quick ID of species.
More than just an ID guide for plant lovers, this book with its exquisite photographs and descriptions will inspire gardeners who are turning to indigenous, low-maintenance and waterwise plants for cultivation.
Maps are included and help identify the common growing area of particular plants.
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