New cactus lexicon

[ElieEstephane]

i managed to get a copy of the new cactus lexicon volume 1. it is being mailed to me right now. so if anyone wants me to look up something for them, feel free to ask!

[7george]

Many will consider The New Cactus lexicon as an outdated book but descriptions, photos and other info it contains make it quite valuable.

[mdpillet]

As far as I know there's no new edition of volume 1?

[DaveW]

There were some revisions to Vol.1 in the cut down Atlas of illustrations version, which originally sold for £30 (the original two full size volumes were well over £100), but all cost more from booksellers now, even secondhand. I have both volumes of the original, plus the cut down version of the "Atlas" pictures volume.

http://www.newcactuslexicon.org/

However David Hunt now makes additions and revisions in his "Cactaceae Systematics Initiatives".

http://forum.bcss.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=166280

http://www.newcactuslexicon.org/other_titles/index.htm

An Example of Cactaceae Systematics Initiatives:-

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jo ... n-sens.pdf

I also have the later work by Joel Lode, which again is over the £100 for the two volumes. You can more or less say Joel "un-lumps" most of what David "lumped", bringing back many of the old generic names and a few more obscure ones besides. Certainly some of the "lumping" in the NCL was unjustified since it was a classification based on morphology. Whereas DNA Sequencing (as often used in the Lode books) has shown that some genera Hunt lumped came from different ev0lutionary lines so should never be "lumped" in the same genus, even though morphologically appearing similar. Rebutia and Aylostera being examples frequently "lumped" in morphological classifications, their similarities being mere convergence through inhabiting similar habitats.

http://cactus-aventures.com/Taxonomy_of ... e_ENG.html

The NCL was stated to be the equivalent of Backeberg's Das Kakteen Lexicon and not intended to be a Britton & Rose or Backeberg's Die Cactaceae. Therefore volume one really lacks a comprehensive synonymy, as in Britton & Rose or Backeberg. However volume two, the so called "Atlas", is the best collection of pictures of authenticated habitat material of cacti ever brought together and far superior to Joel Lode's pictures, which are often of cultivated plants of unknown provenance in collections.

If you say you now have volume 1 Ellie I presume that is just the text version rather than both volumes, therefore presume whoever is selling it held onto the pictures volume? If you cannot get Vol 2 the "Atlas" pictures volume, I would suggest you try and pick up the cheaper cut down (smaller in size, not less pictures) Atlas version. Seems to have gone up a bit since I bought mine, but you may find it cheaper on EBAY or if you Google for it.:-

https://www.nhbs.com/the-new-cactus-lex ... fno=208916

[ElieEstephane]

I contacted the seller and turns out volume 2 is in there too

[toson]

i have NCL pdf..

[Spikylover]

Pdf versions can be easily obtainable. For such important books where so much work was done, support the authors and buy the books no matter how much they cost. If you don't support the authors, we won't be lucky enough to have such comprehensive books.

[DaveW]

Agreed that whilst available the authors should gain from their publication, however the NCL is out of print now. I was one of the pre publication subscribers to it, but unless you can find it secondhand a pdf may be your only way to obtain access to it in future. In some cases these limited run cactus books never get reprinted. For instance Backeberg's Die Cactaceae was going to be printed in an English edition but it never happened, also reprints are often of inferior quality to the original if the original printing blocks were destroyed and they have just photographed an original copy.

Au Cactus Francofone is a good source in PDF form for many classic out of print books, mostly reproduced with the authors or copyright holders permission if they are still alive, which can either be read online or downloaded to your computer.

https://www.cactuspro.com/biblio/:en:accueil

Also with printing costs being so high and quickly revising print works being difficult with new species constantly being discovered, many may be only available in electronic form in future, either downloadable to your computer, or on disk or memory stick. Even the multivolume Encyclopedia Britannica has now become so expensive to print it is now only available on CD and no further printed versions will be produced in future. With everything now being compiled in electronic form to send to the printers, it is just as easy to put it on the web for download or on disk and not bother printing it. Also in the last few years the change in the "Rules" allowing species to be published online without needing to be in print form has removed yet another reason for printed publications.

For Joel Lode's works, he published his list of synonyms online in advance of the books and also a copy of this was included with the books. There are however a few changes in the books themselves, but it does show the differences in taxonomy in his works to the NCL, with many of David Hunt's "lumped " genera being reinstated. (Edit:- I note he has revised some of the errors in the synonymy since the books publication, therefore evidently is keeping it up to date, rather like David Hunt with his Cactaceae Consensus Initiatives)

http://cactus-aventures.com/Taxonomy_of ... errata.pdf

[DaveW]

Evidently Joel Lode intends producing volumes 3 and 4 of his Taxonomy of the Cactaceae and sent me this link for them, which would make it a 4 volume work altogether. Unfortunately, like the New Cactus Lexicon very expensive unless you are a dedicated Cactophile

http://cactus-aventures.com/Taxonomy/Td ... ctENG.html