Xerophilia could not have been around without the

kind support of all who sent us articles, photos,

drawings, or helped us with translations and advice
for the four regular issues and the two special issues
released in 2014: Ada Damiani, Italy; Alessandro
Natodi, Italy; Alexandru Tar, Romania; Aldo
Delladdio, Italy; Antonio Ibarra Pecina, Mexico;
Attila & Michele Kapitany, Australia; Basarab Popa,
Romania; Benjamn Catarino Morales, Mexico;
Camilla Cattabriga, Italy; Carlos Gerardo Velazco
Macas, Mexico; Charles Puche, Spain; Claudia
Lpez Martnez, Mexico; Cristian Perez Badillo,
Mexico; Cyrill Hunkeler, Switzerland; Daniel Guillot
Ortiz, Spain; Davide Donati, Italy; David Rubbo,
Italy; Derrick J. Rowe, New Zealand; Emilio Laguna
Lumbreras, Spain; Erik Holm, Denmark; Federico
Centenari, Italy; Francisco Moreno, Mexico; Gabriel
Milln Garduo, Mxico; Hkan Snnermo, Sweden;
Inmaculada Ferrando, Spain; Jn Baran, Slovakia;
Jacqueline del Roco Cadena Martinez, Mexico;
Jennifer Pannell, New Zealand; John Exarhou,
Greece; John J. Lavranos, Portugal; Jovana Jaime
Hernndez, Mexico; Judd Kirkel Welwitch, South
Africa; Karla Gonzlez Pia, Mexico; Leccinum Jess
Garca-Morales, Mexico; Leo Rodrguez, Mexico;
Linda Cecilia Muoz, Mexico; Malcolm A. Grant,
New Zealand; Mikls Ficzere, Hungary; Milan
Zachar, Slovakia; Oliver Gluch, Germany; P. Pablo
Ferrer-Gallego, Spain; Paolo Panarotto, Italy; Pavel
Golubovskiy, Ukraine; Piet van der Meer, Spain;
Ricardo Daniel Raya Sanchez, Mexico; Roberto
Garay Segura, Mexico; Sandy Karina Neri Cardona,
Mexico; Silvan Freudiger, Switzerland; Stefan
Nitzschke, Germany; Thomas Linzen, Germany;
Vctor Abraham Vargas-Vzquez, Mexico, Vlad
Zimer, New Zealand.

Xerophilia 2015

Xerophilia - the passion for cacti and other succulents

Founders: Eduart Zimer, Dag Panco &
Valentin Posea
Editorial Team: Eduart Zimer, Dag Panco,
Andrea Cattabriga & Pedro Njera
Quezada, Miguel ngel Gonzlez-Botello,
Valentin Posea & Ionu Mihai Floca
Xerophilia is produced in Romania, edited
in New Zealand, field researched in Mexico,
designed in Italy and written by authors
from all over the world!

Xerophilia 2015

JANUARY
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For more than 15 years I had in care plants suitable for rock gardens; well, plants for which the particular climate and soil
type of my home area appeared to correspond. I have used therefore these plants for setting up a rock garden. The term
"rock garden plants" seems inappropriate to me because much of the plant world lives on inauspicious land, on rocky
surfaces. For this reason I consider this expression rather a biased commercial invention. The real merit does not lie with
me on how I built the rock garden, but with the plants being forced to survive at the limit of their endurance, some just
hanging on to life. Along with alpine, subalpine perennial and herbaceous plants, particularly challenging are the cacti and
succulents, several of the species over-wintering outdoors. Mikls Ficzere - Cacti and succulents at -23 oC. Xerophilia 8
March 2014.

Xerophilia 2015

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Marius Dumbrian has a large collection where you can see all kinds of cacti. What is rare and sought after by collectors
you find here. Unlike many others, Marius has many cacti that need more warmth during winter. Lots and lots of
Melocactus, Discocactus, Buiningia, Uebelmannia and so on. In addition, he has a good collection of some of the more rare
species of Euphorbia, who need heating in winter like the Brazilian cacti. Erik Holm - A Dane visiting Romania: a story
about friendship and cacti, second part. Xerophilia 11 December 2014.

Xerophilia 2015

MARCH
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The interspecific hybridization T. pseudomacrochele and T. horripilus isnt easily achieved, since only 10-15% (even less) of
the fruits resulting from the cross exchange of pollen between the two species are able to ripe; this percentage varies from
specimen to specimen, with plants that seem more likely to produce hybrid seeds . The cross-exchange of pollen which
generally obtains the production of ripe fruits is T. pseudomacrochele T. horripilus, while the cross pollination T. horripilus
T. pseudomacrochele is very hardly successful. Alessandro Natodi - The hybrid Turbinicarpus pseudomacrochele x
horripilus: new data and considerations about the techniques of hybridization. Xerophilia 9 June 2014.

Xerophilia 2015

APRIL
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The view was gorgeous though. We returned back to the Road 120 and continued north. South of Pea Blanca we stopped
to visit a population of large Strombocactus disciformis, living near a river bed in company of Lophophora diffusa,
Mammillaria parkinsonii and Thelocactus leucacanthus var. schmollii (the magenta flowered leucacanthus). We stopped
again some kilometres north to check another population of Strombocactus disciformis, again living next to a river bed.
Daina and a friend discovered this population by accident in 2005, while I was rushing up to a nearby hill and they were
waiting for me. Aldo Delladdio - Three weeks in Mexico, part one. Xerophilia 10 October 2014.

Xerophilia 2015

MAY
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Looking for Lithops in the wild, with not many leads, is like looking for the proverbial, needle in a haystack a sort of time
bomb as you only have so many days in which to put your head down and search. Most people fade after the first day let
alone last as long as 2 3 weeks of searching the fine gravels and climbing high enough to locate depressions of sand in
which the many of the species grow. Having another partner or an extra pair of eyes comes in extremely handy. Judd
Kirkel Welwitch - Touring some Lithops in the wild. Xerophilia 10 October 2014.

Xerophilia 2015

JUNE

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In a similar way, the construction of roads inevitably modifies the ecosystem where these are located, not only by
permanently removing vegetation on a long continuous strip, but also by segmenting and isolating vegetation patches or
discontinuing communication, in an ecological sense, between organisms from both sides of the road. Moreover, roads are
the main vector for the spread of unwanted organisms, plants and animals alike, in less alteredhabitats. Roads also allow
easy access for people and more traffic, which means more waste and an increased possibility of both farming and mining,
not to speak of the quarrying of sand from local sand banks to build the board which is placed on the same road, leaving
large holes alongside. Pedro Njera Quezada et al - Habitat destruction in Central Mexico and its implications in the
conservancy of the biodiversity (The wounds of the Earth). Xerophilia 8 March 2014.

Xerophilia 2015

JULY

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Our next stop was Sossusvlei, a place where reportedly occur the most beautiful sand dunes in the world. I climbed up the
Dune 45, it was a hard enterprise and for a moment I thought to give up, but it was my dream and a promise to my son that
I would climb it, so I did not stop until I reached the top of the dune. Later on we walked to the Dead Valley, the most
bizarre landscape that I have ever seen. From Sossusvlei we traveled to Luderitz as we wanted to see more plants: Lithops,
Trichocaulon, and a lot of other mesembs. From there we went to Viooldrif where we spent the last night in Namibia next
to the Orange River, witnessing the best sunset of the trip. Roberto Garay Segura My latest African tour. Xerophilia 9
June 2014.

Xerophilia 2015

AUGUST
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Despite their apparent success in New Zealand, these species originate from countries with surprisingly different climates
to here. The Aeoniums come from Macaronesia (arboreum from coastal areas of Morocco, haworthii from Tenerife), while
C. orbiculata is native to South Africa where it is a characteristic member of the Succulent Karoo biome. We might ask why,
then, they do so well in the South Island of New Zealand? One possible explanation is that they can tolerate a wider range
of climates than is reflected in the native range, perhaps partly due to a high stress tolerance originating from their harsh
semi-arid native habitat. Jennifer Pannell When succulents attack! (A peninsula under threat). Xerophilia 10
October 2014.

Xerophilia 2015

SEPTEMBER
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Among these first protected areas there are several located in the vicinity of the Chihuahuan Desert, this implying that
they contain an high number of cactus species. This is also the case with a small community located in the town of Garcia,
Nuevo Len, near the border with the state of Coahuila: the protected natural area Sierra Corral de los Bandidos. This
small promontory has a total surface of 1,175 hectares and is part of a more complex system of mountains of limestone
origin, but also slab type rocks and sandstones are present. There is a characteristic desert climate in the area which has
elevations up to 1,600 meters. This is an area rich in very charismatic species of succulents and cacti, and therefore I have
conducted several studies to fully understand the cactus species present here. Carlos Gerardo Velazco Macas Sierra
Corral de los Bandidos: protecting the natural wealth of Nuevo Len, Mxico. Xerophilia 9 June 2014.

Xerophilia 2015

OCTOBER
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E. abdelkuri grows only on one of the islands of the Socotra archipelago, the island Abd al Kuri. This is where the scientific
name of the plant originates. The island is located 130 km west of Socotra and 90 km east of the coast of Somalia from the
point of Cape Guardafui. 15 different populations of this plant have been reported on areas located on the east side of the
island in the Jebel Saleh area (also named Jabal Hassala). The plant grows in an area that expands to approximately 10
square kilometres. There have been no reports of other populations existing in other areas of the island. The landscape of
the areas it grows is mainly limestone grounds at an elevation between 250 and 400 meters above sea level. However, it
has been reported by the locals, that in the past the plant was also found in other areas (Forbes, 1903). John Exarhou Euphorbia abdelkuri. Xerophilia 8 March 2014.

Xerophilia 2015

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Epithelantha greggii (Eng.) Orcutt ssp. greggii. Locality: Cuatro Cinegas, Coahuila. Companion species are Ariocarpus
fissuratus (Engelm.) K. Schum., Mammillaria lasiacantha Engelmann, Coryphantha echinus (Engelm.) Britton & Rose,
Epithelantha bokei L.D. Benson, Escobaria zilziana (Boed.) Backeb., Echinomastus hispidus D. Donati & C. Zanovello, and
Escobaria vivipara (Nutt.) Buxb. This species can be found on small rocky hills and near streams where it thrives in gravel
mounds. It grows on a large area, with plants varying greatly in size and shape; some specimens reaching up to 13 cm in
height. Cristian Perez Badillo Biznaga blanca chilona: another habitat pictorial about Epithelantha. Xerophilia 11
December 2014.

Xerophilia 2015

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In regards to the quite widespread cv. of Mammillaria theresae, we deal here with the propagation of an initially in habitat
collected plant. The original plant was collected and imported from Mexico by Heinz Swoboda of Fischamend, Austria, in
the late 1980s or early 1990s. The variation in flower colour was first observed in the nursery of Karl Bruch of Mayen,
Germany, among some normal flowering Mammillaria theresae plants. Stefan Nitzschke - Mammillaria theresae Cutak
and Mammillaria deherdtiana Farwig (on the history of cv. albiflora). Xerophilia 10 October 2014.

Xerophilia 2015