This important and long awaited two-volume monograph deals with the southern representatives of the fascinating group of succulent plants known as stapeliads. It is the only monograph on the topic published in the last 68 years. The book is the product of 25 years of research by the author who has become known for his many publications, meticulous line drawings and superb photographs. This group of highly succulent, more or less leafless plants belongs to the family Apocynaceae. Found exclusively in the Old World, they are widely distributed over the drier parts from the southern - most tip of Africa to the southern shores of Europe and eastwards to Arabia, India and Myanmar. Of the roughly 330 known species, 182 occur in southern Africa, and all but a handful of these are endemic to this region. The present volumes deal with all 182 species which belong to 20 genera. They therefore cover somewhat more than half the total number of all species.