Booklet

SUCCULENT PLANTS:
WONDERFUL WATER MISERS
By PARK S. NOBEL


Chapters

  1. INTRODUCTION—LAWNS, FIRES, AND EDIBLES
  2. HOW AND WHERE SUCCULENTS HOLD WATER
  3. HOW SUCCULENTS METABOLICALLY CONSERVE WATER
  4. BRIGHT FUTURE FOR SUCCULENT PLANTS

SUCCULENT PLANTS: WONDERFUL WATER MISERS is a short booklet (17 pages, 7000 words) that presents the structural and physiological concepts underlying their water conservation. It is written in a cogent, readable style but with a sound scientific basis. Much of the information is usually found only in very technical books not readily accessible to the general public.

Topics range from the care of plants, including tips for watering and fertilizing, to the marvelous mysteries of Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM). CAM, a photosynthetic pathway used by one in fourteen plant species requires only 10 to 30% as much water compared with non-CAM species. Saving water is crucial for our future, both on a personal level as well as for Earth as a whole.

Please email or write me for a copy. The electronic version and a hard copy are $1.95 each (both copyright 2010).

cactus

"The booklet is very informative as well as easy to read. I learned many new things, like how succulents keep their "doors and windows" closed during the daytime."
Lynn Lipinski, Program Manager, External Affairs, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California