Mammillaria Haw.

Latin mammilla—nipple; referring to the nipple-like protuberances on the bodies of most species.

Stephen Forbes

Low-growing, solitary or clustering or occasionally dichotomising cacti without ribs, some with milky or watery sap. Tubercles without grooves on the upper surface (cf. Coryphantha), and forming distinctive spiralling rows crossing over each other, and often with woolly or bristly axils. Areoles with radial and central spines, typically distinct and the latter sometimes hooked. Flowers borne in axils of tubercles, often arranged in a ring around the crown of the body, typically small, less than 2 cm long, occasionally up to 5 cm, funnel-shaped pinkish, reddish, yellowish or white, lacking hair or scales externally. Fruit club-shaped or cylindrical, reddish, indehiscent, berry-like. Seeds brown to black, usually tuberculate.

A large and popular genus with many disputed names; only the major cultivated species are considered here, other species many be encountered in specialist collections.

M. barbata Engelm. from Mexico has pale, straw-coloured flowers and strongly hooked central spines.

After Opuntia, Mammillaria includes the largest number of species within any genus in the Cactaceae and numerous local forms add to taxonomic complexity. Hunt (1981) divides Mammillaria into 6 subgenera (Subg. Oehmea is excluded from the descriptions) and 14 sections within the subgenus Mammillaria. The key is complex but allows allocation of plants to broad groupings, ascribing material to a subgenus and, within subgenus Mammillaria, to a section. However, the descriptions must be consulted to distinguish individual species. As less than half of the species of Mammillaria are described below, and illustrations provide the most convenient method of identification, the references cited should be referred to as well as the information given here. Cullman et al. (1987) is particularly useful as it includes a key to both flowering and non-flowering plants.

Body covered with prominent tubercles that are not grooved on the upper surface cf. Coryphantha.

About 150 species mainly from Mexico but a few in SW USA and the West Indies, C and S America.

Craig (1945), Pilbeam (1981). A review of Mammillaria names has been printed in Bradleya, see Hunt (1983-1987).

Source: Thompson, A, ; Forbes, S.; Spencer, R. (1997). Cactaceae. In: Spencer, R.. Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 2. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 1. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.

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kingdom Plantae
phylum   Tracheophyta
class    Magnoliopsida
superorder     Caryophyllanae
order      Caryophyllales
family       Cactaceae
Higher taxa
Subordinate taxa
species         Mammillaria albilanata Backeb.
species         Mammillaria aurihamata Boed.
species         Mammillaria bocasana Poselg.
species         Mammillaria bombycina Quehl
species         Mammillaria boolii G.E.Linds.
species         Mammillaria carmenae Castañeda
species         Mammillaria carnea Zucc.ex Pfeiff.
species         Mammillaria chica Repp.
species         Mammillaria chionocephala J.A.Purpus
species         Mammillaria compressa D C.
species         Mammillaria crucigera Mart.
species         Mammillaria decipiens Scheidw.
species         Mammillaria deherdtiana Farwig
species         Mammillaria dioica Brandeg.
species         Mammillaria discolor Haw.
species         Mammillaria duwei Rogoz. & P.J.Braun
species         Mammillaria eichlamii Quehl
species         Mammillaria elongata D C.
species         Mammillaria formosa Scheidw.
species         Mammillaria geminispina Haw.
species         Mammillaria glassii R.A.Foster
species         Mammillaria gracilis Pfeiff.
species         Mammillaria guelzowiana Werderm.
species         Mammillaria guerreronis (Bravo) Boed.
species         Mammillaria guillauminiana Backeb.
species         Mammillaria haageana Pfeiff.
species         Mammillaria hahniana Werderm.
species         Mammillaria heidiae Krainz
species         Mammillaria herrerae Werderm.
species         Mammillaria heyderi Muehlenpf.
species         Mammillaria humboldtii Ehrenb.
species         Mammillaria johnstonii Britton & Rose
species         Mammillaria karwinskiana Mart.
species         Mammillaria klissingiana Boed.
species         Mammillaria knippeliana Quehl
species         Mammillaria lasiacantha Engelm.
species         Mammillaria laui D.R.Hunt
species         Mammillaria lenta K.Brandegee
species         Mammillaria longimamma D C.
species         Mammillaria magnifica Buchenau
species         Mammillaria magnimamma Haw.
species         Mammillaria mainiae Brandegee
species         Mammillaria mammillaris (L.) H.Karst.
species         Mammillaria marksiana Krainz
species         Mammillaria matudae Bravo
species         Mammillaria mazatlanensis Gürke
species         Mammillaria melaleuca Salm-Dyck
species         Mammillaria melanocentra Poselg.
species         Mammillaria microhelia Werderm.
species         Mammillaria muehlenpfordtii Foerst.
species         Mammillaria multidigitata G.E.Linds.
species         Mammillaria mystax Mart.
species         Mammillaria nana Backeb.
species         Mammillaria napina J.A.Purpus
species         Mammillaria nivosa Link
species         Mammillaria oteroi Glass & R.A.Foster
species         Mammillaria parkinsonii Ehrenb.
species         Mammillaria pennispinosa Krainz
species         Mammillaria perbella K.Schum.
species         Mammillaria pettersonii Hildm.
species         Mammillaria plumosa F.A.C.Weber
species         Mammillaria poselgeri Hildm.
species         Mammillaria prolifera (Mill.) Haw.
species         Mammillaria rhodantha Link & Otto
species         Mammillaria saboae Glass
species         Mammillaria saetigera Boed. & Tieg.
species         Mammillaria schiedeana Ehrenb.
species         Mammillaria schumannii Hildm.
species         Mammillaria schwartzii Shurly
species         Mammillaria sempervivi D C.
species         Mammillaria senilis Salm.-Dyck
species         Mammillaria sheldonii
species         Mammillaria solisioides Backeb.
species         Mammillaria sphacelata Mart.
species         Mammillaria spinosissima Lem.
subspecies         Mammillaria subsp. crinita
species         Mammillaria supertexta Pfeiff.
species         Mammillaria surculosa Boed.
species         Mammillaria tegelbergiana G.E.Linds.
species         Mammillaria theresae Cutak
species         Mammillaria uncinata Pfeiff.
species         Mammillaria voburnensis Scheer
species         Mammillaria wrightii Engelm.
species         Mammillaria zacatecasensis Shurly
species         Mammillaria zeilmanniana Boed.