MSG Bulletin 22:1 Review

Thanks to Suzanne Mace I finally got this issue! I didn't worry for nothing—it is a really interesting issue.

Editorial, as usually, is dedicated to many subjects: Steven Hammer UK visit, candidates for Show Secretary (all 0 candidates), film on Namaqualend and so on.

Keith Green describes his travel to RSA to see some lithops in a wild. And he saw them and photographed—under pouring rain! But this article is not about plants only, but about people too.

In sixth part of “Lithoparian recollections” Desmond and Naureen write about meets with dr. Geyer and Harry Hall, about detective work on name Lithops dorotheae and first lithops colony where both white-flowering and yellow-flowering lithops grew together.

Didge Rowe writes his “Amauter's Column”. Now he writes on salt sequestration in mesemb leafs, CAM—photosynthesis pathway that many succulents use, and possibility of C4-photosynthesis in Lithops.

Main article of the issue (by number of page and interest) is the “Climbing Brandberg in easy way”. It is about Coles' helicopter flight to inaccessible Brandberg mountain to listen to Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto and meantime to collect Lithops gracilidelineata subsp. brandbergensis. The article is accompanied with dozen of colored photos on two pages and two contour maps.

Steven Hammer wrote on last winter frost in California (I had to force myself to write “frost” here: -2°C is not unusual night temperature in May in Siberia). Of course, mesembs cope well, and it seems to improve flowering of argyrodermas.

He also wrote short but important article “When not to water”—how to get a good fruit.

Terry Smale published an article on three conophytums where botanists got lost among: Conophytum jarmilae Halda, C. danielii Pavelka и C. hanae Pavelka. Terry insists that C. jarmilae and C. hanae are synonyms of C. quaesitum (N.E.Br.) N.E.Br., and C. danielii is a valid species. Title is a “Daniel saved from the lions' den”.

Yumiko Nishikawa and Terry Smale produced an article on Japanese Conophytum Society: about foundation, discussed subjects, book and magazine published by society and so on.

And at last, there is Readers' Corner. Tony Harcourt thanks everyone who gave him plants in Plant Exchange Scheme, and Andrew Wilson argues with Didge Rowe's article on deserts comparison.