Pachyforms: A Guide to Growing Pachycaul and Caudiciform Plants by Philippe de Vosjoli

by Philippe De Vosjoli

Pachyforms is a complete guide to the selection and cultivation of caudiciforms and pachycauls, species that develop thick bodies with sculptural forms. The text is complemented with 350 color photos of some of the foremost examples of living giant babobab trees, passion flower relatives that resemble witch's cauldrons, and yams that become massive geodesic structures. Welcome to a world of bizarre and alien species that will jostle your preconceptions of plants.

Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Zane Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an out-of-print, annoyingly difficult-to-find and stupidly expensive textbook about raising specific types of plants: pachyforms. If you like these plants, this is one of the more definitive, comprehensive sources about them.

One pro-tip is that you can buy the book, take down the content you need and resell it to recoup the costs.

The good:
- Goes in-depth on the basics: why these plants are interesting, how soil substrate and pot size effect plants, some general guidelines for specific plants.
- Author has more comprehensive experience than those one-off old forum posts from 2006.
- The plant index write-ups are extremely helpful, as almost no one else is writing about a specific species. (e.g. Adenia spinosa vs. "adenias" which always auto-suggests to "adeniums")

The bad:
- Bad design (the cover says enough)
- Some fat in the writing that could be cut down.
- Surprisingly brief in content, because a portion of the book is dedicated to photography and an index of specific plants.

[Siarl · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cashier at a plant store, in all seriousness, said to me, “congratulations, you bought the ugliest plant in the store.” This book is full of the most interesting “ugly” plants from around the world. Wonderful photography of adolescent and mature specimens. If you love weird plants you’ll love this book. Five stars ⭐️ Highly recommend.
Side note: My partner just reminded me where we bought it in 2005: Solana Succulent in coastal San Diego County. One of the best places to find many of these plants.