WILD LITHOPS

487 pages. A copy in fine condition.

In Wild Lithops, Harald and Anja Jainta sought to present the plants as they occur in the wild. They have documented 89 of the 91 presently accepted Lithops taxa, plus many of their better-known local forms. Wild lithops are difficult to study. Their localities can be tricky to access, and the plants are notoriously camouflaged for most of the year. They are tiny, just one or a few leaf-pairs, the visible tops of which, coveted for their gem-like colours and intricate patterns, serve to keep them well hidden. But the search is invigorating. One is intimately connected to nature in Africa, less passive. All of one's senses are invoked in order to detect the stealthy creatures living there, potentially harmful animals as well as splendid plants. In Wild Lithop the photography is key to understanding these plants; virtually all pictures were taken in habitat.

The author's aim was to encounter lithops in the manner of the old explorers but this time driving a comfortable 4x4 car and wielding modern cameras which obviate the need to extract the plants from their homes to show them to the world. In sixteen tours through southern Africa over twelve years Harald and Anja Jainta covered 107,000 kilometres and spent 475 days visiting 315 lithops localities. Wild Lithops is a thorough review of published botanic and scientific data on Lithops plus a comprehensive annotated bibliography including over 700 references make this botanical guide a benchmark for plant lovers, succulent breeders and specialists of the unparalleled Living Stones