Peniocereus viperinus is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List. It grows in Morelos, Oaxaca, and Puebla (Mexico), where it occurs in small disjunct subpopulations in tropical deciduous forests, xerophilous scrub and cardonales (cactus scrub). It is threatened by farming and ranching.

Link: forms.gle/7UNRmXvmcnWt...

Sign up for this webinar taking place this Wednesday to learn more about the conservation implications of the recent case in Italy about poaching of Chilean cacti. CSSG Co-Chair Dr. Bárbara Goettsch will be participating.

Welcome Eriosyce tuberculosa, a newly described species from the Atacama Region of Chile. The species was published in the latest issue of the Cactus and Succulent Journal of America. The author suggests the species is Critically Endangered. The exact locality is obscured in this description.

Sclerocactus intertextus is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List. It is abundant across a large range including the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it grows in grasslands and xerophilous scrub. It is not experiencing major threats.

Oroya peruviana is classified as Endangered by the IUCN Red List. This species is endemic to Peru, where it grows in meadows and on rocky slopes in puna grasslands and inter-Andean valleys. The species is threatened by urbanization, mining, fires, ranching, agriculture, and illegal collection.

Article: shorturl.at/HG9xJ

These wild-harvested Ariocarpus fissuratus, destined for Thailand, were confiscated by Mexican authorities. All Ariocarpus species are listed under CITES Appendix I, and this species is further protected under Mexican law (NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010).

Pilosocereus vilaboensis ssp. rizzoanus grows on sandstone rock outcrops in the cerrado of Goias, Brazil. P. vilaboensis is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List: it is abundant, with no major threats known, and is found in at least one protected area.

Press release: shorturl.at/67kYo

The IUCN SSC CSSG is pleased to announce an important legal precedent for the conservation of cacti and succulents. An Italian court has convicted two traffickers on charges related to smuggling of over 1,000 cacti, mostly Copiapoa, from the Atacama Desert.

Matucana haynei is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List. Four subspecies are recognized, which are distributed in three major areas in inter-Andean valleys of Peru. While some illegal collection occurs, the species is common and occurs in protected areas.

February 7th is Reverse the Red day - a celebration of conservation work! Learn more here: www.reversethered.org/reverse-the-..., and register for webinars here: www.reversethered.org/events.

Thelocactus macdowellii is classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List. This species is known from a single locality on the border of Coahuila and Nuevo León, Mexico, where it grows in xerophytic shrubland. Illegal collection is a threat, but the rate of decline is not known.

Ferocactus uncinatus is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List, as Sclerocactus uncinatus. This species has a very large range in Mexico and the American Southwest. Its populations, which grow in xerophilous scrub on limestone or calcareous soils, are scattered and not abundant.

Articles: shorturl.at/a633u and shorturl.at/BrOKx.

New research shows that botanic gardens are reaching their capacity, challenging plant conservation efforts. Conservation progress is further hampered, unintentionally, by international agreements that have complicated collaboration.

Ferocactus haematacanthus is classified as Endangered by the IUCN Red List – the only species of the genus in this category. It is endemic to the Tehuacan-Cuicatlan Valley in Puebla and Veracruz, Mexico. There are certainly less than 2,500 mature plants, with continuing declines observed.

Photo: @myriopteris

Illegal collection is not the only threat faced by cacti and succulents. Habitat destruction results in the indiscrimate removal of large numbers of plants. Without plants, erosion often follows, and nurse plants are unavailable for the reestablishment of new cacti.

Article: shorturl.at/R3Dlk - Antofagasta TV

The Chilean government has convicted an Italian national of trafficking of Chilean cacti.

Our warmest greetings during this holiday season!⁠
¡Nuestros más cálidos saludos durante estas fiestas!