Common name: Pincushion Cactus
Family: Cactaceae, Cactus
Height x width: 2-8" x 6"-indefinite
Growth rate: moderate
Shape: spiny stems surrounded by conical, cylindrical or flattened tubercles (raised appendages); stems vary with species; forms clusters of offsets
Flowers: funnel-shaped, many colors, in a ring around the crown, diurnal
Light: full sun, may survive but not flower in less, also fewer thorns in less light
Temperature: warm, cool mid 40's when inactive
Watering: well-watered, less when inactive
Fertility: low
Humidity: dry
Soil: cactus
Pests and Problems: soft rot, stem spots, scales, mealybugs
Growth habit, uses: desert garden groundcover, pots
Other interest: native mainly to Mexico, but also into the U.S. and Central and South America; name from the Latin mamilla meaning little nipple, refering to the tubercles; a large genus having been collected for over a century, and of much taxonomic discussion
Propagation: seed, removal of offsets
Species:
Botanically there are about 150 species but horticulturally about 250;
the genus is divided in six subgenera, the that of Mammillaria into
3 sections and 14 series, differentiated mainly by seed and flower differences.
The following species are generally more common. Often under spines the
color of the radial spines is first, followed by the central spines if
different.
| Species | Common name |
| bocasana | Snowball Cactus, Powder Puff |
| camptotricha | Bird's Nest Cactus |
| candida | Snowball Cushion Cactus |
| elongata | Gold Lace Cactus, Golden Stars |
| hahniana | Old Lady Cactus |
| parkinsonii | Owl's Eyes |
| plumosa | Feather Cactus |
| rhodantha | Rainbow Pincushion Cactus |
| zeilmanniana | Rose Pincushion Cactus |
| Species | habit | stems | spines | flowers |
| armillata | either | columnar, dull green | brown | pink, white, yellow |
| baumii | clusters | spherical, green | white, yellow | bright yellow |
| blossfeldiana | either | spherical, dark green | yellow, black tips | pale pink, red lines |
| bocasana | clumps | spherical, blue-green | white, yellow, hairy | yellowish white |
| bombycina | clusters | spherical, green | white, white woolly | reddish purple |
| camptotricha | clusters | spherical, deep green | pale yellow | white, scented |
| candida | either | spherical, green | white, felted areoles | rose-pink |
| carmenae | clusters | spherical, green | white, white woolly | pink or cream |
| crucigera | clusters | spherical, brownish | white, white woolly | pinkish purple |
| densispina | solitary | spherical, dark green | yellow, brown, woolly | yellow, reddish outer |
| dixanthocentron | solitary | cylindrical, green | yellow | yellowish pink |
| elongata | clusters | cylindrical, green | white, yellow, red | white, yellow |
| geminispina | solitary | spherical, green | white, white woolly | white, red stripes |
| gracilis | clusters | cylindrical, green | yellow, brown, woolly | yellowish white, lined |
| guelzowiana | clusters | spherical, green | white hairy, brown | bright pink, spicy |
| haageana | clusters | spherical, green | white, reddish, woolly | carmine red |
| hahniana | solitary | spherical, green | white, hairy | purplish red |
| herrerae | either | spherical, green | many white radial only | pale pink, red violet |
| longiflora | solitary | spherical, green | white, reddish | pink, often striped |
| longimamma | solitary | spherical, green | yellowish, few | yellow |
| magnimamma | clusters | spherical, gray-green | yellowish, white woolly | purple-red, brownish |
| mazatlanensis | clusters | cylindrical, grayish | white, brown, woolly | carmine-red |
| microhelia | either | cylindrical, grayish | golden to reddish | pink |
| mystax | either | either, gray-green | white, purplish | purplish pink |
| nejapensis | solitary | cylindrical, green | white, yellowish woolly | white, red striped |
| parkinsonii | clusters | cylindrical, grayish | white, interlaced | cream tinged pink |
| pennispinasa | either | flat, spherical, green | yellow, brown | white, pink stripes |
| plumosa | clusters | spherical, green | white, white woolly | whitish, lined |
| pringlei | solitary | spherical, green | golden | cherry red |
| rhodantha | solitary | either, green | white, yellow, woolly | purplish pink |
| schiedeana | either | spherical, green | yellow, white, woolly | cream |
| sempervivi | either | spherical, dark green | white, yellow, woolly | white, yellow-pink |
| senilis | solitary | either, pale green | white, woolly | violet-red |
| supertexta | clusters | cylindrical, green | white | purplish-red |
| tayloriorum | clusters | spherical, grayish | white, woolly | purplish-pink |
| zeilmanniana | clusters | spherical, dark green | white, brown, hairy | white to red-violet |
©Authored by Dr. Leonard Perry, Professor, University of Vermont as part of PSS121, Indoor Plants.
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