Mammillaria sphaerica
longmamma nipple cactus
Family CactaceaeAlso called pale mammillaria
About
Mammillaria sphaerica, the longmamma nipple cactus, forms clumps of small pale green globes with pale yellow summer flowers. It is native to south-eastern Texas 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; under glass, bright light.
- Water
- Water moderately in the growing season with a balanced liquid feed every 2–3 weeks; keep dry in winter.
- Temperature
- Minimum about 1 °C; it will not survive freezing.
- Soil
- Free-draining, low-nutrient cactus compost.
- Propagation
- Sow seed at 19–24 °C in early spring, or detach offsets.
- Growth rate
- Slow; 5–10 years to full size.
- Mature size
- Up to about 10 cm tall and 10 cm across.
- Hardiness
- RHS H2: not frost-hardy; grow under glass in temperate climates.
“General guidance for the genus” marks advice sourced for the genus as a whole rather than this species.
Field notes
Morphology
Forms clumps of pale green spheres up to 5 cm across with short hairs. Pale yellow flowers up to 3 cm wide appear in summer.
Distribution & habitat
South-eastern Texas and north-eastern Mexico, in scattered patches up to 1,000 m.
Cultivation notes
Needs dry winters and cannot take frost, so in temperate zones it is grown under glass in free-draining, low-nutrient cactus compost in full sun. It holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit.
Habitat
- Altitude
- Not recorded
- Altitude class
- —
- Native to
- United States, Mexico
- IUCN status
- Least concern
Cultivation
- Difficulty
- Not recorded
- Temperature
- Minimum about 1 °C; it will not survive freezing.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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