Mesembs: The Titanopsis Group. 2012. illus. XII, 194 p. gr8vo. Hardcover.

This is the first volume of a series to comprise eight volumes, in which the authors will describe and illustrate every compact and collectable member of the Living Stone. Volume 1 explores some 40 species and nine genera of the Titanopsis Group in completedetail. The Titanopsis Group is one of a dozen informal groupings within the Mesemb Family (Aizoaceae). The author divided the Titanopsis Group group into two volumes, with Lithops and its closest allies being slated for a later offering. Among them, Aloinopsis and Deilanthe share the distinction of being among the few caudiciform mesembs, while Tanquana and Didymaotus are true mimicry plants, as beautiful as lithops but less common in cultivation. Then there's the photogenically warty rosettes of Titanopsis, the flashy flowers of Ihlenfeldtia, the cherubic leaves of Vanheerdea, etc.