Mammillaria - WikiHQ

Mammillaria is one of the largest genera in the cactus family (Cactaceae), with currently about 170 to 190 accepted species and around 99 subspecies. Most of the mammillarias are native to Mexico, while some come from the Southwestern United States, the Caribbean, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras and Venezuela. The common name "pincushion cactus" refers to this genus and the closely related Escobaria.

The first species was described by Carl Linnaeus as Cactus mammillaris in 1753, deriving its name from the Latin mammilla, "nipple", referring to the tubercles that are among the distinctive features of the genus. Numerous species are commonly known as globe cactus, nipple cactus, birthday cake cactus, fishhook cactus or pincushion cactus (though such terms are also commonly used for related taxa, such as Escobaria or Ferocactus).

Description

The distinctive feature of the genus is the possession of an areole split into two clearly separated parts, one occurring at the apex of the tubercle, the other at its base. The apex part is spine-bearing, and the base part is always spineless, but usually bears some bristles or wool. The base part of the areole bears the flowers and fruits, and is a branching point. The apex part of the areole does not carry flowers, but in certain conditions can function as a branching point as well.

The plants are usually small, globose to elongated, the stems from in diameter and from tall, clearly tuberculate, solitary to clumping forming mounds of up to 100 heads and with radial symmetry. Tubercles can be conical, cylindrical, pyramidal or round. The roots are fibrous, fleshy or tuberous. The flowers are funnel-shaped and range from and more in length and in diameter, from white and greenish to yellow, pink and red in colour, often with a darker mid-stripe; the reddish hues are due to betalain pigments as usual for Caryophyllales. The fruit is berry-like, club-shaped or elongated, usually red but sometimes white, magenta, yellow or green. Some species have the fruit embedded into the plant body (cryptocarpic). The seeds are black or brown, ranging from in size. Many species exude a milky latex when injured.

Mammillaria-flowers.jpg|alt=A color picture of a cactus with pink flower

Mammillaria spinosissma cv. un pico 20.JPG|Detail of cactus with fruit

Life cycle of Fish hook Cactus.jpg|Fish hook cactus (Mammillaria beneckei var. balsasoides)

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Taxonomy

The genus Mammillaria in the family Cactaceae was proposed by Adrian Hardy Haworth in 1812. and conserved Mammillaria.

Mammillaria is a large and diverse genus with many species often exhibiting variations due to the nature of terrain, weather, soil and other ecological factors. As a result, subdivisions within the species has been rather inconsistent over time. Initially, some investigators were more inclined to consider each variation as a unique species, creating confusion and long synonymy-lists for some of the species.

Species

, Plants of the World Online accepted the following species:

Mammillaria albicoma Boed.
Mammillaria albiflora (Werderm.) Backeb.
Mammillaria albilanata Backeb.
Mammillaria anniana Glass & R.A.Foster
Mammillaria arreolae P.Carrillo & Ortiz-Brunel
Mammillaria aureilanata Backeb.
Mammillaria backebergiana Franc.G.Buchenau
Mammillaria baumii Boed.
Mammillaria beiselii Diers
Mammillaria beneckei C.Ehrenb.
Mammillaria bertholdii Linzen
Mammillaria bocasana Poselg.
Mammillaria bocensis R.T.Craig
Mammillaria boelderliana Wohlschl.
Mammillaria bombycina Quehl – silken pincushion
Mammillaria brandegeei (J.M.Coult.) Engelm. ex K.Brandegee
Mammillaria candida Scheidw.
Mammillaria carmeniae Castañeda
Mammillaria carnea Zucc. ex Pfeiff.
Mammillaria carretii Rebut ex K.Schum.
Mammillaria chionocephala J.A.Purpus
Mammillaria coahuilensis (Boed.) Moran
Mammillaria columbiana Salm-Dyck
Mammillaria compressa DC. – mother of hundreds
Mammillaria crinita DC. – rose pincushion cactus
Mammillaria crucigera Mart.
Mammillaria decipiens Scheidw.
Mammillaria deherdtiana Farwig
Mammillaria densispina (J.M.Coult.) Orcutt
Mammillaria discolor Haw.
Mammillaria dixanthocentron Backeb. ex Mottram
Mammillaria duoformis R.T.Craig & E.Y.Dawson
Mammillaria duwei Rogoz. & P.J.Braun
Mammillaria ekmanii Werderm.
Mammillaria elongata DC. – ladyfinger cactus
Mammillaria eriacantha Link & Otto ex Pfeiff.
Mammillaria erythrosperma Boed.
Mammillaria evermanniana (Britton & Rose) Orcutt
Mammillaria fittkaui Glass & R.A.Foster
Mammillaria flavicentra Backeb. ex Mottram
Mammillaria formosa Galeotti ex Scheidw.
Mammillaria × gajii Chvastek & Halda
Mammillaria gasseriana Boed.
Mammillaria geminispina Haw. – twin-spined cactus
Mammillaria gigantea Hildm. ex K.Schum.
Mammillaria glassii R.A.Foster
Mammillaria glochidiata Mart.
Mammillaria grusonii Runge
Mammillaria guerreronis (Bravo) Boed.
Mammillaria haageana Pfeiff.
Mammillaria hahniana Werderm. – old lady cactus
Mammillaria hernandezii Glass & R.A.Foster
Mammillaria herrerae Werderm.
Mammillaria heyderi Muehlenpf.
Mammillaria huitzilopochtli D.R.Hunt
Mammillaria humboldtii C.Ehrenb.
Mammillaria johnstonii (Britton & Rose) Orcutt
Mammillaria karwinskiana Mart. – royal cross mammillaria
Mammillaria klissingiana Boed.
Mammillaria knippeliana Quehl
Mammillaria kraehenbuehlii (Krainz) Krainz
Mammillaria lasiacantha Engelm. – golf-ball pincushion cactus
Mammillaria laui D.R.Hunt
Mammillaria lenta K.Brandegee
Mammillaria limonensis Repp.
Mammillaria linaresensis R.Wolf & F.Wolf
Mammillaria longiflora (Britton & Rose) A.Berger
Mammillaria longimamma DC. – finger cactus
Mammillaria luethyi G.S.Hinton
Mammillaria magnifica Franc.G.Buchenau
Mammillaria magnimamma Haw. – Mexican pincushion
Mammillaria mammillaris (L.) H.Karst.
Mammillaria manana W.A.Fitz Maur. & B.Fitz Maur.
Mammillaria marksiana Krainz – cabeza de viejo
Mammillaria mathildae Kraehenb. & Krainz
Mammillaria matudae Bravo
Mammillaria meiacantha Engelm.
Mammillaria melaleuca Karw. ex Salm-Dyck
Mammillaria melanocentra Poselg.
Mammillaria mercadensis Patoni
Mammillaria meyranii Bravo
Mammillaria microhelia Werderm.
Mammillaria moelleriana Boed.
Mammillaria monochrysacantha Gonz.-Zam., D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
Mammillaria morentiniana Gonz.-Zam., D.Aquino, J.Mohl & Dan.Sánchez
Mammillaria muehlenpfordtii C.F.Först.
Mammillaria multihamata Boed.
Mammillaria mystax Mart.
Mammillaria nana Backeb.
Mammillaria napina J.A.Purpus
Mammillaria nivosa Link ex Pfeiff. – woolly nipple cactus
Mammillaria nunezii (Britton & Rose) Orcutt
Mammillaria occulta Zamudio & U.Guzmán
Mammillaria orcuttii Boed.
Mammillaria oteroi Glass & R.A.Foster
Mammillaria painteri Rose
Mammillaria parkinsonii C.Ehrenb. – owl's eyes
Mammillaria pectinifera F.A.C.Weber – conchilinque
Mammillaria peninsularis (Britton & Rose) Orcutt
Mammillaria pennispinosa Krainz
Mammillaria perbella Hildm. ex K.Schum.
Mammillaria perezdelarosae Bravo & Scheinvar
Mammillaria petrophila K.Brandegee
Mammillaria petterssonii Hildm.
Mammillaria picta Meinsh.
Mammillaria pilispina J.A.Purpus
Mammillaria plumosa F.A.C.Weber – feather cactus
Mammillaria polyedra Mart.
Mammillaria polythele Mart.
Mammillaria pottsii Scheer ex Salm-Dyck – rattail cactus
Mammillaria pringlei (J.M.Coult.) K.Brandegee
Mammillaria prolifera (Mill.) Haw. – Texas nipple cactus
Mammillaria rekoi (Britton & Rose) Vaupel
Mammillaria rhodantha Link & Otto – rainbow pincushion
Mammillaria roseoalba Boed.
Mammillaria rzedowskiana Zamudio & U.Guzmán
Mammillaria sanchez-mejoradae Rodr.González
Mammillaria sartorii J.A.Purpus
Mammillaria scheinvariana R.Ortega V. & Glass
Mammillaria schiedeana C.Ehrenb.
Mammillaria schwarzii Shurly
Mammillaria scrippsiana (Britton & Rose) Orcutt
Mammillaria sempervivi DC.
Mammillaria senilis Lodd. ex Salm-Dyck
Mammillaria sinistrohamata Boed.
Mammillaria solisioides Backeb.
Mammillaria sonorensis R.T.Craig
Mammillaria sphacelata Mart.
Mammillaria sphaerica A.Dietr.
Mammillaria spinosissima Lem.
Mammillaria standleyi (Britton & Rose) Orcutt
Mammillaria supertexta Mart. ex Pfeiff.
Mammillaria surculosa Boed.
Mammillaria tayloriorum Glass & R.A.Foster
Mammillaria tepexicensis J.Meyrán
Mammillaria tonalensis D.R.Hunt
Mammillaria uncinata Zucc. ex Pfeiff.
Mammillaria varieaculeata Franc.G.Buchenau
Mammillaria vetula Mart.
Mammillaria voburnensis Scheer
Mammillaria wagneriana Boed.
Mammillaria weingartiana Boed.
Mammillaria wiesingeri Boed.
Mammillaria winterae Boed.
Mammillaria xaltianguensis Sánchez-Mej.
Mammillaria zeilmanniana Boed.
Mammillaria zephyranthoides Scheidw.
Mammillaria zublerae Repp.

Some former species

Mammillaria angelensis = Cochemiea angelensis
Mammillaria barbata = Cochemiea barbata
Mammillaria boolii = Cochemiea boolii
Mammillaria dioica = Cochemiea dioica
Mammillaria elegans = Mammillaria geminispina
Mammillaria fraileana = Cochemiea fraileana
Mammillaria goodridgei = Cochemiea goodridgei
Mammillaria grahamii = Cochemiea grahamii
Mammillaria guelzowiana = Cochemiea guelzowiana
Mammillaria mainiae = Cochemiea mainiae
Mammillaria marcosii = Mammillaria multihamata
Mammillaria microthele = Mammillaria formosa subsp. microthele
Mammillaria morganiana = Mammillaria parkinsonii
Mammillaria multidigitata = Cochemiea multidigitata
Mammillaria pondii = Cochemiea pondii
Mammillaria sheldonii = Cochemiea grahamii
Mammillaria tetrancistra = Cochemiea tetrancistra
Mammillaria thornberi = Cochemiea thornberi
Mammillaria wrightii = Cochemiea wrightii

File:Pincushion_Cactus_Cluster_Sahuarita_Arizona_2013.jpg|Mammillaria cluster in Arizona.

File:Mammillaria bombycina11.JPG|Mammillaria bombycina

File:Mammillaria elongata 7.JPG|Mammillaria elongata

File:Mammillaria meicantha Engelm.PNG|Mammillaria meiacantha, photographed at Bedugul Botanical Garden, Bali, Indonesia

File:Mammillaria microhelia 11.JPG|Mammillaria microhelia

File:Mammillaria plumosa 3.JPG|Mammillaria plumosa

File:Mammillaria prolifera20100407 076.jpg|Mammillaria prolifera

File:Mammillaria (aka).jpg|Mammillaria spinosissima 'Un Pico'

File:Succu Mammillaria swinglei 01.jpg|Mammillaria sheldonii

File:Mammillaria_tetrancistra.JPG|Mammillaria tetrancistra

File:Mammillaria vetula sub. gracils.JPG|Mammillaria vetula

File:Mammillaria pectinifera 5.JPG|Mammillaria pectinifera

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Distribution and habitat

Mammillarias are predominantly found in Mexico but also have a wide range of distribution in neighboring regions north of the equator including the southwest United States, the Caribbean, Guatemala and Honduras. The southernmost limits of its range appear to be Colombia and Venezuela, where only two known species are found. The fruit from several species is edible, sometimes described as delicious, and is best harvested when fully extruded from the axil and separates easily from the plant. while others are classified as Vulnerable (e.g., Mammillaria carretii) or Near Threatened (e.g., Mammillaria hahniana). A number of species are listed as Critically Endangered, including Mammillaria zeilmanniana and Mammillaria laui. The entire genus is listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), meaning that international trade is regulated to prevent unsustainable harvesting.