QUEPO 17 - 2003 Contents:

• 1.1 Glossary "Q" & "R" Cacti and succulents genera and species beginning with the letters "Q" & "R" and other words related are explained here.
• 1.2 History 3. C.Ostolaza. The Chronicler Antonio de León Pinelo wrote in 1656 "The Paradise in the New World", trying to prove that this idyllic spot was in South America, near the Amazon river basin.
• 1.3 Ethnobotany P.Alvarez & F.Cáceres The Churajó Culture, from the Arequipa Department in southern Peru, made the mortar to fix walls using cacti fragments and also as mordant to paint them.
• 1.4 Ethnobotany O.Pardo The sixteen century chronicler Jerónimo de Vivar was the first one who wrote about the Spaniard conquest of Chile and the cacti they found..
• 1.5 SLACCS Meeting C.Ostolaza. This is a report of the last meeting of the Latin American and Caribbean Cactus and Succulent Society, in Mexico.
• 2.1 Art Craso Cecilia Fletcher is a dedicated Chilean srtist, living in Rome, Italy, and we are showing here her most recent works, related to cacti.
• 2.2 Philately Cactofílico Malta Postal Servce edited last year a five issues series related to some new and rare cactus and succulent species. Here is a comment.
• 2.3 Literature Craso This time we are including a poem related to cacti, from a Peruvian writer called Alberto Ballón Landa. The watercolour belongs to Carmen Avendaño.
• 2.4 Succulent Literature Lucio Russo This is the second part of an article helping the readers to make the best choice when looking for books about cactus and other succulents.
• 2.5 Peruvian Cacti A. Suchantke This is last part of a fine chapter of a book dealing with Peruvian cacti, with excellent ink drawings by the author.
• 2.6 Art in School J.Pizarro One Specs' member organized in Tacna, in southern Peru, a school drawing contest called "Let's paint a Tacna cactus". This is a report of it and of the winners.
• 3.1 Cactus M.Arakaki This is an excellent report of the Peruvian cactus genus Weberbauerocereus. It also deals with the molecular relationship of the genus with other cacti genera.
• 3.2 Cactus J.Vega P. This important article deals with step by step micrograft techniques for cacti conservation, suitable for critically endangered species
• 3.3 Ecology J.Pizarro This paper studies the environmental changes in relation to cacti species distribution in several coastal "lomas" in southern Peru.
• 3.4 Useful Plants M.Cházaro Dioscorea remotifolia called "camote del cerro" in Mexico, is described here as a plant whose edible tubers are sold by street vendors in the Jalisco State.
• 3.5 Ecology S.Novoa Several birds that eat cacti fruits and those that make their nests on columnar cactus or using spines for that purpose are mentioned in this article.
• 4.1 Growers M.Caballero Ms. Carmen Rosa Avendaño de Ostolaza Specs' Board member and a keen grower, answers some questions about successful plant growing..
• 4.2 Confidental Specstador Specs' main activities during the first semester of this year, are reported here.
• 4.3 Book Reviews M.Caballero. Two new books, "The Cactus Family" by Ted Anerson and "Studies in the Opuntioideae" compiled by D.Hunt and N.Taylor, are reviewed here.
• 4.4.Abtstracts. R.Douglas