Mammillaria herrerae
golf ball cactus
Family Cactaceae
About
Mammillaria herrerae, the golf ball cactus, is a critically endangered cactus endemic to Querétaro, Mexico. Illegal collection removed most of the wild population.
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 with good ventilation.
- Water
- Water sparingly in the growing season and not at all in winter; sensitive to excess water.
- 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
- Open mineral potting mix with perfect drainage; feed with a fertiliser high in potassium and phosphorus and low in nitrogen.
- Pot
- Repot every 2–3 years.
- Propagation
- Seed, or by dividing offsets (pups). General guidance for the genus
- Growth rate
- Slow. General guidance for the genus
- Hardiness
- Frost-sensitive.
“General guidance for the genus” marks advice sourced for the genus as a whole rather than this species.
Field notes
Distribution & habitat
Endemic to Querétaro, Mexico, in rocky semi-desert shrubland.
Cultivation notes
Grown in open mineral soil with perfect drainage, full sun and good air movement, watered little in summer and not in winter, and repotted every 2–3 years. It is hard to propagate, and research on its growing needs is ongoing.
Conservation
Critically Endangered, threatened by habitat loss and illegal collection: over 95% of the population was collected or sold within 20 years. Cultivation studies aim to support its conservation.
Habitat
- Altitude
- Not recorded
- Altitude class
- —
- Native to
- Mexico
- IUCN status
- Critically endangered
Cultivation
- Difficulty
- difficult
- 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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