Cover illustration of Mammillaria melaleuca by Alasdair Glen

A less common member of the subgenus Dolichothele, both in collections and on the show bench, M. melaleuca was first described in 1850, occurring in Oaxaca but this was later corrected to Palmillas, Tamaulipas where it grows at an altitude of 1500 m. Hailing from this altitude it would be expected to be fairly robust in our winters and in my experience I've found nothing to contradict this. I have, however, to modify both some of my comments published in the August 2001 issue of our Journal and a generally held view regarding slowness of growth and reluctance to offset. The example illustrated, purchased from Uhlig's nursery in 2004 in a 7 cm. pot, is growing rapidly and all five offsets contributed to flushes of flowers in May and in August 2006, reinforcing my recommendation of this species. Nevertheless, despite this apparent vigour, I would still recommend discretion with the watering can and a gritty compost.

Editorial .................................................................1

A.G.M 2007 ...........................................................2

Escobaria through the years

by John Ede ...........................................................3

Cold tolerance of cacti

by Philip Greswell ...................................................6

Habitat musings - Coryphantha pallida and its forms

in Puebla by Chris Davies ........................................8

by R. E. Stanley ....................................................10

Cultivar names

by R. E.Stanley .....................................................18

Cultivars: Let the listing begin

by Gordon Rowley ..................................................19

Notes on the 2007 seed distribution

by Bill Maddams ....................................................20

Statement

by Helmut Rogozinski .............................................25

Still looking ahead

by Alasdair Glen .....................................................25