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Mammillaria pennispinosa is an
exquisite spined miniature though difficult to keep growing in
cultivation, it is immediately recognisable by its beautiful white,
feathery spines and is surely one of the more popular of the genus. |
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Morphology (Identifying
Characteristics): Plants, at first solitary, will form clusters
up
to 7cm wide in the course of time.
Stems: Globular, 3 - 4 cm high and in diameter.
Roots: Tick taproots.
Sap: Without lacteal juice.
Tubercle: Flabby, cylindrical,
Axil: Woolly at first, later naked.
Central spine: 1 - 3, brownish red with yellow bases, covered with
white pubescence, 10 - 12 mm long, one hooked.
The additional central
spines (if present), are similar to the radial.
Radial spine: 16 - 20, featherlike, slender, straight, plumose,
grayish-white to yellow to orange to reddish, 5 - 8 long.
Flower: White with pink-carmine central veins, up
to 15 mm long and
in diameter.
Fruit: Red, 15 - 20 mm long.
Seed: Black.
Flowering season: Winter to spring, the flowers remain open for
five or six days, exceptionally more. |
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Cultivation: Very prone to root rot, it needs a very permeable open
potting soil, good drainage and a very careful application of water.
Additionally, water should not be applied from above, as the feathery
spines will retain water and add to rotting problems,
but in good conditions with
excellent
ventilation, in
bright light,
it
usually grows without particular difficulty.
If we succeed in growing a colony of more than
10 stems, then the results will repay all the growing efforts. Full light,
short of direct sun, and high temperatures are helpful, and needed to
achieve success in
flowering.
Propagation: Sow
directly after
last frost, or use
cuttings (if available).
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Family:
Cactaceae (Cactus
Family) |
Scientific Name:
Mammillaria pennispinosa Krainz
First description by Krainz, Cact. Journ. Brit. X. 18
(1948), sine descr. lat.; Krainz in Sukkulentenk.:Jahrb. Schweiz.
Kakt.-Ges. II. 20. 1948 |
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Distribution: Southwest Coahuila and Durango (between Bermejillo
and Mapimi) Mexico. Altitude.
Field collection numbers: Gl. & F 784; Lau 1445; ML 632; Rep. 1205;
SB 1061; WM 890, 2550, 3550.
Conservation status: Listed in
CITES appendix 2.
Habitat: It grows at 1.200 - 1.350 m of altitude, where it is
rare. |
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Synonyms:
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Mammillaria pennispinosa PM 481 Puente Vinagrillos , Durango, Mexico
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Cultivation
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