Two new species are described from wild-collected and cultivated material grown at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden, Gauteng, South Africa.

Previously, we reported Cylindropuntia whipplei from as far south as ‘the Gila’, along Bear Creek, approximately 8 km east of the town of Gila, New Mexico. We also reported on three herbarium specimens labeled C. whipplei from farther south in New Mexico. Here we show (1) that those three specimens are not C. whipplei, (2) provide a review of specimens from southern Arizona showing that the New Mexico plant along Bear Creek currently seems to be at the southern range limit, (3) include photos of yellow to greenish-yellow flowers of the specimen along Bear Creek, and (4) provide a short update regarding herbarium specimens of C. whipplei from Bear Creek.

The state of Michoacán, Mexico is moderately diverse in Crassulaceae, with 38 species documented to occur there. In this article, two new species of Crassulaceae endemic to the Sierra Madre del Sur of Michoacán are described and illustrated with photos; a new state record is also reported. Echeveria coalcomanensis is known from a single rock outcrop in humid pine-oak forest at 2000 m in the Sierra de Coalcomán. It is placed in series Valvatae based on the inflorescence of cincinni, imbricate bracts, and valvate petals. The species can be easily distinguished from other members of the series by having green, ovate to deltoid leaf blades with a reddish acuminate apex. Sedum larai occurs at two localities separated by 90 km. One is found at the ecotone of oak forest and tropical deciduous forest at 1200 m, the other in pine-oak forest at 2138 m. The new species is similar to two species of Sedum sect. Fruticisedum, S. bourgaei and S. guadalajaranum, from which it differs by being a dwarf, rhizomatous herb with delicate, unbranched stems to 11 cm long. Sedum salazarii was previously known only from western Guerrero and is here reported 200 km to the west in the Michoacán, where it occurs in pine-oak forest and cloud forest at 2300 to 2500 m.

In Mexico there are between 66 and 97 species of Opuntia, divided into 17 series. One of these series is the Tunae, which consist of low shrubs with cladodes that detach from the plant, though not easily, and have a pubescent epidermis. In the dry season the areoles are sometimes surrounded by a purple spot. The cladodes have acicular, subulate, yellow or white spines. The fruit is red and fleshy. During the exploration in the Sierra of Abra Tanchipa Biosphere Reserve, situated in the first foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, East of the state of San Luis Potosí, a cactus pear was discovered. This cactus pear cannot be classified among the known species of Opuntia due to its distinct morphological characteristics. However, it does possess features typical of the members of the Tunae section. Therefore, it is proposed as a new species within this series, named Opuntia fortanelli. The differences between O. fortanelli, the proposed species, and the closely related species O. decumbens and O. elizondoana, are discussed.

Coleus serracafemaensis, an ascending sparingly branched shrub with tuberous roots and sky-blue flowers is described here as a new species. It has a restricted range and is only known from Serra Cafema Mountain in southern Angola (within the Kaokoveld Centre of Endemism, southwestern Angola and northwestern Namibia). It grows on granite derived soil among granite boulders in a steep south facing boulder strewn kloof. Diagnostic characters for Coleus serracafemaensis include the large, tuberous rootstock, photosynthesizing stems with peeling bark, distinctly petiolate, broadly ovate to trullate leaves and its large sparingly branched panicles and accrescent sub-equally 5-lobed calyces, each lobe ending in a spine. Coleus serracafemaensis belongs to a group of species previously recognized as belonging to the genus Holostylon which includes 4 species with virgate ascending stems from a perennial base, persistent pedicels breaking near the base of the deciduous fruiting calyx, single flowered cymes and minutely lobed, almost entire style apices. A comparison of some of the more prominent morphological features to differentiate between Coleus serracafemaensis and its possible nearest relative, Coleus gracilipedicellatum, is provided. Based on IUCN Red List categories and criteria, a conservation assessment of Vulnerable (VU D2) is recommended for the new species.

Carimã Beach is on Curupu Island and is interesting because of the intense wave activity, tides, and coastal currents that cause the local sandbanks to vary by up to just over 1 km back and forth. Part of this beach is covered by a low, herbaceous vegetation with some succulent plants that occur in sympatry: Batis maritima (Bataceae), Blutaparon vermiculare (Amaranthaceae), and Sesuvium portulacastrum (Aizoaceae). Here we explore the diversity of succulents in the region and provide a taxonomic synopsis of the species on this beach, with the goal of expanding the knowledge about the flora of Maranhão State, especially succulents, which are numerous but represented by few records.

Several species of Agave have been recorded as becoming naturalized—even invasive—in, especially, mild-climate parts of the world. Most of these species use multiple reproductive strategies, in particular the production of vast numbers of bulbils on the peduncle and side branches of spent inflorescences. One such species, A. fourcroydes, in the vernacular known as henequen, is widely cultivated, especially for the extraction of fibers, also referred to as henequen, from its leaves, but also as an ornamental. To date, this species was only on one occasion reported as producing capsules and seed. We here record a further instance of the setting of viable seed by A. fourcroydes, a strategy that, in addition to the production of thousands of bulbils on a massive inflorescence, as well as through the production of basal sprouts, can contribute to the ease with which it spreads and becomes established in suitable habitats.

Tumamoca macdougalii, the Tumamoc globeberry, is a delicate vine of Arizona, Sonora, and northern Sinaloa. The property of the Desert Laboratory on Tumamoc Hill, Pima County, Arizona, is the type locality of both the genus and T. macdougalii. T. macdougalii was listed as an endangered species in 1986 and then delisted in 1993. Three T. macdougalii populations have been monitored during the summer growing season from 2015 to the present. Populations at two of the three sites had been documented at least once in the 1980s–1990s, and at one site individual plants from 1984–1995 and 2007–2014, and then every 2–4 weeks from 2015–2022. The third site was discovered in 2007 and then monitored only from 2015–the present. Specific field procedures evolved over the years, but since 2015 plant size, stage class, flower bud, flower, and fruit counts, and plant condition were recorded. A total of 205 visits among the three sites were made from 1984–2022. Populations declined dramatically between 1996–2006, remained remarkably resilient at very low numbers from 2007–2014, and then experienced a partial rebound in 2015-2018. Survival analysis and population viability analysis indicate very slow recovery. Analyses of climate indices in relation to T. macdougalii population declines show that drought and warming temperatures began immediately following the completion of required post-delisting monitoring and are likely responsible for dramatic population declines from 1996–2006. A brief upswing in favorable climate parameters from 2015–2019 resulted in partial recovery, but since then numbers have declined again, though not as steeply. A recent effort to evaluate status of sites known to support T. macdougalii in Sonora in the late 1980s indicates significant decline in populations paralleling declines in the Tucson area. If T. macdougalii populations are declining in all or a major part of the range, there may be reason to consider putting it back on the list of endangered and threatened species.

In Tigray, northern Ethiopia, prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) is an important crop that serves as a source of seasonal food and income, soil and water conservation, live fencing, and an all-year-round livestock feed. With the intention of increasing the benefits from the crop, an exotic insect, the cochineal (Dactylopius coccus), was intentionally introduced. Nevertheless, the insect has gone wild and caused severe damage to the crop. It has now become a serious threat to the survival of the plant species in the Tigray region. Thus, cactus pear populations and exotic materials were evaluated in the laboratory for their resistance to the insect. The cultivars were tested in 2018 using a complete randomized experimental design with five replications and several plants from three different species of cactus pear: (Opuntia ficus-indica, Opuntia stricta, and Opuntia robusta). Each cladode of the test entries was artificially inoculated with 30 crawlers (mobile first instar) of Dactylopius coccus, less than 24 hours from hatching. Days to first and second molting, days to maturity and number of surviving crawlers on each infested cladode after 7, 14, 21 and 45 days were recorded. The number of crawlers in susceptible species, the weight, size and the relationship between weight and size of insects to the number of crawlers produced were also recorded. There was a highly significant difference among cactus pear species in their resistance to the insect, expressed in terms of the number of surviving crawlers and days to maturity. None of the cochineal crawlers on O. stricta and O. robusta test cultivars were able to reach maturity. On the other hand, most of the cochineal crawlers inoculated on the O. ficus-indica lines were able to reach maturity and produce new offspring. The average period for first instar, second instar, maturity and life cycle of the female cochineal, was 19.4, 15.2, 40.4 and 75 days respectively. Thus, both O. robusta and O. stricta were resistant while all O. ficus-indica lines tested were completely susceptible. Besides, the number of crawlers produced per mature female cochineal was found to have a significant correlation coefficient with the size and weight of individual female cochineal. In areas where O. ficus-indica is challenged by D. coccus, suitable cultivars of O. stricta and O. robusta could perhaps perform the same services that were previously filled by O. ficus-indica.

Ferocactus peninsulae (Cactaceae) (F.A.C. Weber) Britton & Rose is one of the most significant cacti in landscape projects and is distributed in arid climates. Conventionally, these are propagated by seeds; however, seed quantities remain insufficient for mass propagation due to florivore damage and spontaneous abortions of buds and flowers. The slow growth and the high risk of extinction of this species have increased the need for effective propagation techniques. Thus, this research aimed to produce multiple shootlets in vitro involving the areoles of barrel cactus. The in vitro germinated seedlings were excised to a length of 0.5 cm and cultivated on Murashige and Skoog (MS) nutrient medium containing various amounts of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and meta-Topolin (mT). Successive micro-structural evaluation of explant tissues indicated that shootlets regenerated from areoles by forming actively dividing meristematic regions, which increase to form shoot protuberances. Numerous well-formed shootlets (5.7 shootlets with 2.5 cm length) with areoles were produced after 8 weeks of culture on 0.5 mg L^-1 mT. The basal portions of shootlets were composed of parenchymatous files of cells with a broad point of attachment to the explant tissues. Subsequent subculture produced multiple shootlets (31.0 shoots per explants per culture bottle with 4.3 cm average length) on 0.5 mg L^-1 mT + 0.15 mg L^-1 α-Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA). The positive impact of mT on increased rhizogenesis was also observed. The shootlets derived from mT (cytokinin) and NAA (auxin) medium were healthier and exhibited better rooting (93.3% response with 8.0 roots per shootlet) on ½ strength nutrient medium + 0.75 mg L^-1 IBA. The study demonstrates that areoles could be induced using mT to regenerate multiple shoots for large-scale propagation of cacti.