All the species have been painted in habitat by botanical artist Gillian Condy and most of the habitats have been drawn in pencil by artist Murray Ralfe.

The book will be a numbered limited edition and will include sponsor's and collector's copies.

The full details of this book appear in the newsletter.

NEWSLETTER.

Aloe craibii, a newly described grass aloe species from the mountains near Barberton. This rare narrow endemic was painted by Gillian Condy in habitat in the early autumn, towards the end of the flowering season.

A book on South Africa's Grass Aloes entitled "South Africa's Grass Aloes with an Account of Chortolirion angolense" is expected to be published during the first half of 2005.

Aloe dominella painted in habitat near Dundee in Kwazulu Natal by botanical artist Gillian Condy.

Details of the flower in the Aloe dominella painting.

The book has been written by Charles Craib who has studied the autecology and cultivation of South Africa's grass aloes for more than a decade. The species have all been illustrated in habitat by well-known botanical artist Gillian Condy. Murray Ralfe has provided the pencil habitat drawings of the areas where the plants are found.

The account which follows describes the book and the artwork. It will be updated from time to time as work with the project progresses. Also featured are some of the illustrations that will illustrate the book.

Pencil drawing of the Aloe micracantha habitat near Greenhills east of Grahamstown.

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK.
Some 12 years ago Charles Craib, the author realised that South Africa's grass aloes were very specialised plants and very little studied.

These unusual aloes are characterized by a deciduous habit with the leaves dying back in the winter months. They are subject to regular winter burning in dry grasslands.

They flower either in response to burning or clearing out of thick accumulations of dead grass, through the medium of fire.

Aloe hlangapies painted in grassland near Piet Retief by botanical artist Gillian Condy. Details of the ripening capsules are included beside the plant.

The habitats of many species have shrunk to a tiny fraction of their former size through exotic afforestation.

These processes required eliciting and understanding. The initial chapters of the book contain general discussions of the plants in their habitats. In addition there are two chapters discussing the artwork. These chapters are written with specific reference to the methods for painting the species in their natural environment and the techniques for the habitat drawings.

There is a chapter on the taxonomy of grass aloes. The book follows the taxonomy of the late Gilbert Reynolds who had a thorough field knowledge of South Africa's Aloe species.

Some of the specific components of the book as well as its production and presentation are discussed below.

Aloe woolliana painted in habitat by Gillian Condy. The plant was growing in rocky mountain summit escarpment grassland near Lydenburg in Mpumalanga.

THE PRINT RUN.
It is expected that the book will comprise:
2000 numbered copies of the standard edition
40 copies of the collector's edition
10 copies of the deluxe edition.

Specially selected paper will be used for the print run. The sponsor's copies will include an original watercolour painting of a grass aloe species by the artist Gillian Condy. The collector's editions will include a hand coloured drawing of a grass aloe species. These arrangements are still in the process of being finalized and may be altered in a few ways.

The book will not be reprinted as it is a limited, numbered edition.

The habitat of Aloe cooperi drawn by Murray Ralfe. This spectacular scenery occurs on the summit of the southern end of the Leolo mountains in Sekhukhuneland.

SALE OF THE ARTWORK.
The artwork, both the water colour paintings and the habitat drawings will be offered for sale once the book has been printed. The plans are that the watercolour paintings will be sold as a set, and also the pencil habitat drawings. People interested in viewing the artwork with a view to purchasing it should contact the two artists directly. Their email and postal contact details are as follows:

CHAPTERS OF THE BOOK.
There are 26 grass aloe species in South Africa, including the newly described Aloe craibii, a rare species found in mountainous grassland near Barberton. There is a chapter on each of these species which appear in alphabetical order in the text. The species are: Aloe albida, Aloe boylei, Aloe chortolirioides, Aloe cooperi, Aloe craibii, Aloe dominella, Aloe ecklonis, Aloe fouriei, Aloe hlangapies, Aloe inconspicua, Aloe integra, Aloe kniphofioides, Aloe kraussii, Aloe linearifolia, Aloe micracantha, Aloe minima, Aloe minima variety blyderivierensis, Aloe modesta, Aloe myriacantha, Aloe nubigena, Aloe parviflora, Aloe saundersii, Aloe soutpansbergensis, Aloe thompsoniae, Aloe verecunda and Aloe vossii.

The spring and autumn flowering Chortolirion angolense are also discussed in detail, with respect to their autecology. These C. angolense have also been painted in their rocky grassland habitats.

The text for each species consists of an introductory section about the plants in habitat and the areas of South Africa where specific populations were studied. The introduction is followed by an account of the autecology of the plants in a specific habitat. The discussion about each of the sites selected for study is followed by a section entitled "The Growth Cycle and the Role of Fire". Fire stimulates flowering for many grass aloe species and keeps the habitat clear of dead grasses and herbs. The complicated relationship of each species to the burning of its habitat is accounted for in detail in the text.

The final two sections of each chapter concern the status of wild populations and plants in cultivation, propagation and horticultural potential.

In most instances grass aloe species are expected to decline to the point where they become extinct. In a few cases they have adapted to man-made changes in their environment and in some instances have become more numerous, but in very localised populations. These themes are dealt with throughout the text but summarized for each species in the section of the chapter on the status of wild populations.

A great deal of time has been spent collecting information on the propagation and cultivation of all the South African grass aloe species. This is discussed in the closing section of each chapter.

The two chapters on the watercolour paintings and habitat drawings examine how each artist went about preparation of the illustrations. Painting the species in habitat required some specific adaptations of technique. Each species was generally drawn in habitat and painted from live material in the studio. The heat during the day, when the artist was seated in the field beside a plant, made it impossible to apply paint to the drawing. The paint tended to dry before it was applied to the drawing.

The pencil drawings were begun at the habitat and then completed in the studio with references to an elaborate photographic technique. This technique employs many digital photographs of different aspects of the habitat. The artist develops a sensitivity to the textures in the habitat on site visits, and then recreates these with reference to photographs.

Habitat alteration, habitat destruction and habitat degradation are processes which combine in different ways, mostly leading to the decline of the various grass aloe species. A good deal of space is devoted to a discussion of these aspects. In many instances the understanding of these processes is likely to remain academic. In most cases the habitats have been too transformed for consideration of the long-term survival of the plants. The documenting of these processes may create additional understanding for the preservation of grassland plants, where this is still possible.

The chapter on the taxonomy of grass aloes approaches the subject matter from an entirely new angle. There is an account of the knowledge construction process in South African botany with specific reference to aloes. This is the realm of the Sociology of Knowledge. In this instance the text aims to elucidate why certain taxonomic frames of reference with respect to the genus Aloe are followed and not others.

The argument is also maintained that plant taxonomy is more of an art than a science. In consequence competing taxonomic models become available for different kinds of users of plant names.

SOUTH AFRICA'S CHANGING GRASSLANDS.
The grassland of eastern South Africa have undergone many changes over the last two centuries. These began with the arrival of the 1820 settlers in the Albany district around Grahamstown when they started sheep farming. Enormous amounts of grassland have been converted to exotic forests in much of Kwazulu Natal and Mpumalanga. The Eastern Cape around Grahamstown and Port Elizabeth has become seriously infested with alien invasive vegetation. These changes to the grass aloe habitats are a theme throughout the species accounts in the book and also in specific chapters.

Grass aloe species tend to disappear from degraded grasslands and their extinction from various habitats is a good indication of the state of the veld.

DETAILS ABOUT THE PUBLICATION OF THE BOOK.
It is expected that brochures for the book ought to be available between December 2004 and March 2005. Those interested in receiving brochures, which will also contain order forms, should send an email, fax or letter to the publisher, Umdaus Press.
Umdaus Press will keep your details on file and send you a brochure when they are ready.

Please send your contact details to Umdaus Press giving your full name, email address and/or postal address

Umdaus Press may be contacted at:
Postal address:	P.O. Box 11059 Hatfield 0028 Pretoria South Africa
Telephone:	+27 11 880 0273
Fax:	+27 11 788 1498
Email:	umdaus@succulents.net
Web site:	www.succulents.net