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| The genera of Cactaceae |
Fishhook cactus, Globe cactus, Pincushion cactus, Bird’s nest cactus.
Including Bartschella Britton & Rose, Cactus L., Chilita Orcutt, Dolichothele (K. Schum.) Britton & Rose, Ebnerella Buxb., Haagea Fric, Krainzia Backeb., Lactomammillaria Fric (nom. inval.), Leptocladia Buxb., Leptocladodia Buxb., Mamillaria F. Rchb. (orth. var.), Mamillopsis (E. Morren) F.A.C. Weber ex Britton & Rose, Mammariella Shafer (nom. inval.), Mammilaria Torr. & A. Gray (orth. var.), Neomammillaria Britton & Rose, Oehmea Buxb., Phellosperma Britton & Rose, Porfiria Boed., Pseudomammillaria Buxb., Solisia Britton & Rose
The plants laticiferous (e.g., many species of Neomammillaria, Porfiria,), or non-laticiferous; condensed-cactoid (sometimes tap-rooted); low and very compacted in their entirety. The plants’ appearance dominated by crowded interlacing areolar structures obscuring any tubercles, ribs or furrows, or dominated neither by crowded areolar structures nor by tubercles covering the areoles. The plants not vegetatively reduced to tubercles. The stems spiny; discoid, or globose, or ovoid, or shortly cylindric, or elongate cylindric; apically depressed, or not apically depressed. The plants terrestrial and self supporting, or lithophytic, or geophytic (occasionally, almost); unbranched, or offsetting; erect; solitary, or clustering; to (0.1–)0.4–0.6 m high. The stems not segmented; not ribbed and grooved. The plants conspicuously tuberculate. The tubercles round, conicle, cylindrical, pyramidal or humped on one side, not grooved, with apical spines; neither grooved nor ridged adaxially. The tubercles not connected by ribs; spirally disposed. The areoles associated with tubercles; closely approximating. The components of adjacent areoles so extensively covering the mature plant body as to obscure any ribs or furrows, or not obscuring details of the plant body. The areoles spirally disposed. The morphologically geminate, super-imposed buds separated, with the lower one in the axil of the conspicuous tubercle that bears the upper one at its tip. The areoles distinctly bipartite, with the abaxial spine cluster at the tubercle tip and no recessed isthmus or other visible connection with the adaxial, floriferous meristem near its base (the basal portions sometimes with felt, hairs or bristles); with spines (terminal on the tubercles). The spines clustered; 2–72; 0.2–3(–7) cm long; with radials and centrals differentiated, or showing little or no difference between radials and centrals (centrals sometimes lacking). Central spines when differentiated, 0, or 1–11(–15). Radial spines 9–70. The spines usually including some hooked members, or never hooked; straight, or curved, or hooked (sometimes with hooked centrals). The mature stems leafless.
Flowering during the day. The flowers lateral (arising from the bases of older areoles, but but often forming rings around the stem tips); one per areole; funnelform to campanulate; sessile; small (mostly), or medium-sized; 0.7–7 cm long; regular to somewhat irregular. The receptacle conspicuously produced beyond the ovary into a tubular hypanthium to scarcely produced beyond the ovary (the tube short); naked. The hypanthial tube naked; without scales; spineless. The perianth white, or cream, or yellow, or orange, or red, or pink, or purple. The perianth segments usually rather narrow spreading; fairly elongate, relatively narrow, or relatively short, broad (mostly); blunt, or pointed (mostly), or apiculate. Stamens numerous; adnate to the perianth (inserted in the tube, the filaments clustered around the style, sometimes spiralled); not exserted.
The mature fruit sub- globose, or ellipsoidal, or clavate; red, or purple, or green (-ish); naked; with persistent floral remains, or without persistent floral remains; fleshy (berry-like, at first), or non-fleshy when mature (ultimately); usually indehiscent. The seeds white, or black; globose or sub-globose, or ovoid, or pyriform; with perisperm; not encased in bony arils; with a strophiole obscuring the hilum, or without a strophiole hiding the hilum. The testa shiny, or dull; regularly minutely pitted (usually), or rugose, or smooth, without ornamentation. Cotyledons reduced or vestigial.
General anatomy. Laticifers with laticifers (especially in Neomammillaria), or without laticifers. Medullary bundles present (e.g., in Neomammillaria, Porfiria), or absent.
Natural Distribution. Mostly Mexico and southwest U.S, but a few in Central America, West Indies, Venezuela, Columbia.
Classification. More than 200 species. Subfamily Cactoideae. Tribe Cacteae.
Cf. Hunt (1967).
Images. • Mammillaria compressa: © Zoya Akulova (2014). • Mammillaria duwei: © Zoya Akulova (2014). • Mammillaria duwei: © Zoya Akulova (2014). • Mammillaria heyderi subsp. gaumeri, M. heyderi subsp. heyderi (as hemisphaerica), M. compressa and M. geminispina (all as Neomammillaria): Britton & Rose (1923). • Mammillaria heyderi (as applanata), M. karwinskiana, M. rhodantha subsp. aureiceps, M. mystax, and cf. M. magnimamma (as macrantha; all as Neomammillaria): Britton & Rose (1923). • Mammillaria rhodantha Link & Otto (as pulchra): Bot. Reg. 1329, 1830. • Neomammillaria confusa and N. geminispina, with Escobaria cubensis (as Coryphantha), E. vivipara (as Coryphantha arizonica) and E. deserti (as Coryphantha chlorantha), Coryphantha durangensis, and C. bumamma (as elephantidens): Britton & Rose (1923). • Mammillaria sphaerica (as Dolichothele), Mammillaria schumannii (as Bartschella), Neomammillaria carnea, Neomammillaria crocidata, ‘Neomammillaria arida’ (cf. Mammillaria petrophile), Escobaria dasycantha and E. emskoetteriana (as bella): Britton & Rose (1923). • Mammillaria magnimamma, M. karwinskiana and M. gigantea (all as Neomammillaria), with Escobaria missouriensis (as Neomammillaria): Britton & Rose (1923). • Mammillaria haageana (as dealbata), M. amoena, M. muehlenpfordtii, M. poledra, M. pseudoperbella = ?, M. spinosissima (all as Neomammillaria): Britton & Rose (1923). • As Neomammillaria: Mamillaria armillata, M. bocasana (as kunzeana), M. decipiens, N. palmeri = ?, M. prolifera (as multiceps), M. wildii (cf. crinita, glochidiata). Britton & Rose (1923). • As Neomammillaria: Mammillaria armillata, M. bombycina, ‘Neomammillaria goodrigei’ = ?. Britton & Rose (1923).
We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa. See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2018 onwards. The genera of Cactaceae: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval. Version: 14th November 2021. delta-intkey.com’.
