My name is Werner van Heek.

I was born in 1941 . Since the age of 14 I busy myself intensively with cacti. It started on the window-board, then contiunued in the cold frame and since a couple of years I grow cacti in a greenhouse of 60 square meters.

Three cacti pictures of my first cacti book have moulded my cacti hobby deeply:
1. A flowering Ariocarpus,
2. an Espostoa with Cephalium and
3. a Melocactus.

Hence it arised the desire to visit these cacti genera in their home countries. Meanwhile I have almost done 20 cacti trips, as e.g. to MEXICO, BRAZIL, CUBA, PERU, ARGENTINA, CHILE and the USA. Being there I could not only take photographs of the beloved cacti and discover some new kinds, but I also learnt about the historical legacies of old cultures.



In numerous publications and recitations as e.g. in Russia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, The Netherlands, Italy and of course Germany I tried to convey this fascination in pictures and words. Emphases were ARIOCARPUS, UEBELMANNIA, AUSTROCEPHALOCEREUS (Micranthocereus) and ARROJADOA.

The following diapositive-slideshows are available:
1. Cacti in North-Brazil, Country and People
2. Cacti, Canyons and Cultures in North America
3. Cacti and Cultures in Peru
4. Cacti and Cultures on the left and the right Side of the Andes Mountains (Peru, Chile and Argentina)
5. Cacti and Carnival in Cuba
6. The Species UEBELMANNIA
7. The Species ARIOCARPUS
8. The Species ARROJADOA
9. The Species AUSTROCEPHALOCEREUS (Micranthocereus)
10. Epiphytic Cacti and Phyllos
11. Flowering Cacti from Ariocarpus to Zygocactus