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Mammillaria blossfeldiana
A tiny, delightful plant with black, hooked, central spines, and large pink and white flowers.
This slowly offsetting Mammillaria species is tremendously good-looking;  
 

Light pink flower, petals with a darker median line and unusual green  stigma stretched out towards the sun..

Description: Mammillaria blossfeldiana is a rather small plant, usually solitary or slowly branching, with superb showy flowers.
Stems: Globose to cylindrical, gray-green, 4 - 10 cm high, 3 - 4 cm in diameter, without latex.
Tubercle: Short, conical, 3-5 mm long, about as long as large (or larger) ± quadrangular at the base. Axil almost naked, or with a little short wool.
Parastichy number: 8-13.
Radial spine: 11-20 rid, acicular, white-cream or yellowish with darker tips, 4 - 7 mm long.
Central spine: 3-4, about 8-12 mm long, of which the lowermost one is erect, dark brown to black, and hooked, while the upper 2 or 3 are straight, acicular and paler.
Flower: Very showy, broadly infundibuliform, 20 - 40 mm in diameter. Inner perianth segments are white, with rose to carmine red mid-ribs, up to 20 mm long, Outer perianth segments are oblong, obtuse, solid deep pink to brownish/red with white to cream margins. Filament is cream-coloured, stigmalobes are greenish
Fruit: Club-shaped, 14-20 mm long, orange-red to scarlet.
Seed: Black, minutely pitted.
Blooming season (Europe): March-July.

Cultivation:  Like most hooked spined species from Baja California, this plant isn't noted for being easy to cultivate, but in good conditions with excellent ventilation, it grows without difficulty.  It is especially sensitive to overwatering, so careful watering and an open mineral potting soil are a must to extend the life of this species.  Avoid the use of peat or other humus sources in the potting mixture.  Don't add limestone to the potting mix, which must be moderately acidic. Can be sensitive to frost.  It requires maximum sun exposure to reach its full potential, and  to achieve success in flowering. A winter rest that allows the plant to shrivel (perhaps losing up to 25% of its summer height) will encourage flowering and long time survival. Be careful to encourage slow growth. The careful grower will be rewarded with generous numbers of large white and pink flowers.

Propagation: Seeds or offsets.

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Scientific name:  Mammillaria blossfeldiana
First description by Boedeker, Monatsschr. Deutsche Kakt.-Ges. 3: 209 (1931)

Origin:  Mexico, Baja California and Guadalupe and Cedros Islands) .

Habitat:  Arid plains in Lower Sonora Desert zone in, hot, decomposing granite and gravelly soil. Altitude below 50 m.

Geographic Distribution:,

Conservation status: Listed in CITES appendix 2.

• Mammillaria blossfeldiana Bödeker,
  Monatschr. Deutsche Kakt.-Ges., 3: 209, 1931
• Mammillaria shurlyana Gates,
  Cact. Succ. J. (US), 13: 78, 1941
• Mammillaria blossfeldiana Böd. var. shurlyana (Gates) Wiggins
  in Shreve et Wiggins , Veget. Fl.. Sonoran Desert, 2: 1030, 1964
• Mammillaria goodridgii
• Mammillaria goodrichii var. rectispina
• Mammillaria rectispina,
• Bartschella blossfeldiana
• Neomammillaria blossfeldiana
• Ebnerella blossfeldiana
• Chilita blossfeldi

Very impressive, especially for the magnificent flowers which appear in midsummer in cultivation.   It flowers freely at an early age, and is well worth growing. Best for full sun to light shadow.

All the information and photos in cactus art files are now available also in the new the Enciclopedia of Cacti. We hope you find this new site informative and useful.