About
Mammillaria albilanata is a small, mostly solitary cactus from southern Mexico with carmine to purplish-pink flowers. Four subspecies are recognised.
Care at a glance
- Pet safety
- Listed as non-toxic to pets, but the sharp spines can cause injury. General guidance for the genus
- People
- Listed as non-toxic to humans, but the sharp spines can cause injury. General guidance for the genus
- Light
- Full sun or bright direct light, with some afternoon shade in hot weather. General guidance for the genus
- Water
- Let the soil dry out completely between waterings; stop watering while dormant in winter. General guidance for the genus
- Temperature
- Grows best at about 21–27 °C (70–80 °F); prefers a cool winter rest at 7–13 °C (45–55 °F). General guidance for the genus
- Soil
- Well-drained cactus mix with added grit or coarse sand. General guidance for the genus
- Propagation
- Seed, or by dividing offsets (pups). General guidance for the genus
- Growth rate
- Slow. General guidance for the genus
“General guidance for the genus” marks advice sourced for the genus as a whole rather than this species.
Field notes
Morphology
A short, cylindrical stem up to 15 cm tall and 8 cm wide, usually solitary in the wild but sometimes clustering in cultivation. Small flowers range from carmine red to purplish pink and are followed by red fruits with brown seeds.
Distribution & habitat
Endemic to Mexico in Chiapas, Colima, Guerrero, Oaxaca and Puebla, in rocky crevices and open ground at 500–2,400 m depending on subspecies. The type subspecies grows in Guerrero at 500–2,200 m, mainly in the mountains between Iguala and Chilpancingo, including the Zopilote Canyon.
History & etymology
David Hunt treats M. reppenhagenii, M. tegelbergiana and M. ignota as subspecies of M. albilanata; the accepted subspecies are albilanata, oaxacana, reppenhagenii and tegelbergiana.
Habitat
- Altitude
- Not recorded
- Altitude class
- —
- Native to
- Mexico
- IUCN status
- Least concern
Cultivation
- Difficulty
- Not recorded
- Temperature
- Grows best at about 21–27 °C (70–80 °F); prefers a cool winter rest at 7–13 °C (45–55 °F).
Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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