CSSA VOL.81, January-February 2009 No.1 Some succulent memories: Part 8. A new sponsor for the ISI Myron Kimnach Opuntia fragilis in Iowa Eric Ribbens & Verónica Flores L Pierrebraunia bahiensis - A rare Brazilian cactus flowers in cultivation Bob Ressler Combatting cactus clearance on Curaçao Sophie Petit Succulent savvy, southern style Amanda Campbell After a few wet years in southern New Mexico Root Gorelick Lithops - From seed to scanner bed. Part 3, From sprout to first true leaves D Russell Wagner & Steven A Hammer Graptopetalum mendozae Miguel Chazaro-Basanez & Raul Acevedo-Rosas Cactus tips from a master grower: The Lobivia Clan Elton Roberts Looking Sharp: Hand-held Digital Closeups Irwin Lightstone Succulents on Stamps: Opuntia, Part I Peg Spaete

On the cover: Mammillaria prolifera and its subspecies can be found from Haiti (and possibly Cuba), throughout eastern Mexico, and into southern Texas along the Rio Grande. And while it looks like a wintery scene when it appears in fruit on the cover of the January-February issue of the Journal, don't take this as in indication that you should be watering your cacti during their winter rest. This plant's small cream-colored flowers begin to emerge in early spring, and Michael Newberry captured this shot mid-summer following a southern-Arizona monsoon. While flowers and fruits are often present simultaneously, it's fair to say that the fruits are more showy. And like most cactus fruits, they're edible too - tangy, with a seedy crunch. Most people don't bother sewing the seeds, since clumping mamms are so easy to propagate. From a single offset, clumps of heads, each less than 5cm across, will vigorously fill a shallow 6" pot in a matter of years, ready to be broken up and shared some more.