About
Mammillaria erythrosperma is a small, freely clustering pincushion cactus endemic to central and north-eastern Mexico.
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
Individual heads are glossy dark green, up to 5 cm tall and 4 cm wide, with distinct tubercles in 8–13 spirals and somewhat woolly axils. It produces many offsets, first at the base and later from the axils, so clumps can look like one large body.
Distribution & habitat
Endemic to the Mexican states of Guanajuato, Jalisco, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas.
History & etymology
Formally named in 1918 by Friedrich Bödeker, who had first examined a plant in 1914 at the Belgian nursery of succulent expert Frans de Laet in Contich.
Conservation
Assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN in 2009, but listed as Threatened (Amenazadas) by Mexico's SEMARNAT in 2010.
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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