# Mammillaria

Mammillaria is one of the largest genera in the cactus family (Cactaceae), with currently 200 known species and varieties recognized. 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 1 to 20 centimetres (1⁄2 to 7+3⁄4 inches) in diameter and from 1 to 40 cm (1⁄2 to 15+3⁄4 in) 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 7 to 40 millimetres (1⁄4 to 1+1⁄2 in) 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. The seeds are black or brown, ranging from 1 to 3 mm (1⁄16 to 1⁄8 in) in size.
* detail of cactus with fruit
* Fish hook cactus (Mammillaria beneckei var. balsasoides)

## Taxonomy

The genus Mammillaria in the family Cactaceae was proposed by Adrian Hardy Haworth in 1812. Initial spellings varied by authors but Mammillaria is now recognized as the accepted spelling. The first species in the genus was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 as Cactus mammillaris. The name Cactus became so confused that the 1905 Vienna botanical congress rejected Cactus as a genus name, 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. Over time, new investigators began grouping closely related forms under the same name to attempt to more accurately define the species.
Several systems for classification began to emerge. The first of note, created by Schumann and modified by Berger, divided the species into ten named groups. However, the criteria for these divisions was somewhat indefinite and flexible. In the early 1923, cactologists Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose developed the Britton & Rose system which arranged the classification characteristics in a system of keys with tangible separation factors, resulting in a much more workable system of identification.
Later classification was performed by the cactus specialists Hunt, Reppenhagen and Luthy, with much work focusing on researching the meanings and value of the original plant descriptions, synchronizing them with modern taxonomic requirements and studying the morphology of plants and seeds, as well as ecological aspects of the genus. These works helped to expand the understanding of Mammillaria taxa.
Currently the classification of Mammillaria is in a state where few newly discovered species are likely, though some new species may yet be found when the chaos of names created earlier by commercial plant collectors is sorted out. Many names that were introduced for plants barely differentiated by a shade of flower colour or variation in spination were eliminated in attempt to make the use of names consistent with the rest of the botanical world. The number of taxa, which at one time numbered above 500, is now below 200. Some genera (Dolichothele, Mammillopsis, Mammilloydia, Krainzia and others) have been merged back into Mammillaria, and others like Coryphantha and Escobaria were confirmed as separate.
Intense studies of DNA of the genus are being conducted, with preliminary results published for over a hundred taxa, and this promising approach might soon end the arguments. Based on DNA research results, the genus does not seem to be monophyletic and is likely to be split into two large genera, one of them possibly including certain species of other closely related genera like Coryphantha, Ortegocactus and the formerly recognized Neolloydia.

### Species

As of November 2024, 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
* Mammillaria cluster in Arizona.
* Mammillaria bombycina
* Mammillaria elongata
* Mammillaria meiacantha, photographed at Bedugul Botanical Garden, Bali, Indonesia
* Mammillaria microhelia
* Mammillaria plumosa
* Mammillaria prolifera
* Mammillaria spinosissima 'Un Pico'
* Mammillaria sheldonii
* Mammillaria tetrancistra
* Mammillaria vetula
* Mammillaria pectinifera

## Distribution and habitat

Mammillarias is 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 appears to be Colombia, and Venezuela, where only two known species are found. Within this wide distribution, some species will exhibit large variations depending on the locality, sometimes even within just a few hundred feet. Some of these variations are so extreme that they have resulted in classifications of new species, many of which are so limited to one locality that they are considered critically endangered.

## Cultivation

Mammillarias have extremely variable spination from species to species, and attractive flowers, making them attractive for cactus hobbyists. Most mammillarias are considered easy to cultivate, though some species are among the hardest cacti to grow. Several taxa are threatened with extinction at least in the wild, due to habitat destruction and especially overcollecting for the pot plant trade. Cactus fanciers can assist conservation of these rare plants by choosing nursery-bred specimens (wild-collected ones are illegal to possess for the rarest species). Several mammillarias are relatively easy (for cacti) to grow from seeds. One such species, popular and widely available from nursery stock but endangered in the wild, is Mammillaria zeilmanniana.

## Uses

Water can be extracted from the cacti.