Guide to Succulents of Southern Africa

Twenty-five per cent of southern African flora is succulent in nature, and a remarkable forty per cent of the world's succulent plants occur in South Africa. The book will highlight the diversity of succulents that occur in the region with special emphasis on the larger groups 'mesems (vygies) and aloes. The book covers approximately 250 individual species, focusing on the most common and most interesting, and each entry features a photograph and distribution map.

Gideon F. Smith, South Africa's most prolific author on succulent plants, has authored and co-authored numerous scientific papers, as well as popular works such as First Field Guide to Aloes (2003), Gardening with Succulents (2005), Cacti and Succulents (2006) and Aloes in Southern Africa (2007). He is Chief Director for Biosystematics Research and Biodiversity Collections at the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and Professor of Plant Science at the University of Pretoria. Neil R. Crouch heads the Ethnibotany Unit at the South African National Biodiversity Institute, focusing primarily on medicinal plants and their potential in drug development. His study of useful indigenous species has fostered his interest in the succulent flora of southern Africa. He has written many scientific papers, as well as the market handbook Medicinal Plants Traded on South Africa's Eastern Seaboard (2003). He is an Honorary Professor in the School of Chemistry at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.