The Great Cacti

by David Yetman

"Yetman has been fascinated by columnar cacti for most of his life and now brings years of study and reflection to a wide-ranging and handsomely illustrated book. Drawing on his close association with the Guarijios, Mayos, and Seris of Mexico - peoples for whom such cacti have been indispensable to survival - he offers surprising evidence of the importance of these plants in human cultures. The Great Cacti review the more than one hundred species of columnar cacti, with detailed discussions of some 75 that have been the most beneficial to humans or are most spectacular. Focusing particularly or northwestern Mexico and the southwestern United States, Yetman examines the role of each species in human society, describing how cacti have provided food, shelter, medicine, even religiously significant hallocinogens."--Jacket.