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-> Cactus & Succulents -> Other Succulents

Author: Various

Just as there are growers who strictly look at the "purity" of natural populations and do not allow the transfer of pollen grain between plants of the same taxa but distant populations, so there are enthusiasts, specialists and serious experts who deal with unusual forms with the same precision. Both groups work with the potential that Mother Nature has created. Natural variability allows for the survival in nature of individuals and forms who are most adaptable to the conditions and, in the event of climate change, will be replaced by a "new" more viable form. At the same time, even in nature, individuals with a new arrangement of genes are constantly emerging, just in case of a change in natural conditions, but only the strongest survive into adulthood and become the main carriers of heredity. Individuals of albino or other mutations are naturally eliminated by this selection.

And the current group, which creates individuals with extreme traits, referred to as cultivars, who would most likely not survive in nature, at least not in the current conditions, will be the focus of the current Special. From the point of view of growers, we are interested in the appearance (phenotype) of plants. If we were moving in the field of pharmacology, the selection criterion would be completely different, often invisible to the naked eye, and would consist, for example, in the production of a certain chemical compound. But the principle remains the same and these individuals must then be reproduced, their characteristics retained and provided with conditions for survival. Cultivars can be created in many different ways, often only by selection of natural taxa, but also by mutations or hybridization.

And just as botany follows the rules for botanical taxa, there are also formal rules for cultivars. In this Special focused on cultivars of the genus Lithops, two worlds and two world-renowned experts have been connected. The first of them, Keith Green, does not own a real collection apart from the window sill, but oversees the professional (legislative) side in terms of formal rules. Norihiko Shimada, as the exact opposite, devotes himself with equal precision to cultivation, but at the same time keeps careful information about his parents and origin about each new form.

With this introduction, I wanted to indicate that there are different views on quality, and in Kaktusy magazine we usually encounter a "botanical" criterion. This Special brings a completely different perspective, and even if you are a supporter of a strictly botanical point of view, I hope that you will find something positive for yourself. I think that the selection of authors meets the strictest criteria and will satisfy lovers of succulents and litops especially. I wish you a pleasant reading.

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