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Mammillaria swinglei
(Syn: Mammillaria sheldonii)

Mammillaria swinglei (Now often considered a synonym of
Mammillaria sheldonii to which it don’t shows significant differences)
 

Description: Branching basally to form clumps.
Stems: 10-25 cm tall , 3-5 cm in diameter, dull green, often becoming reddish. Without latex.
Tubercles: Cylindrical four-sided basally, keeled 7-10 mm long , 5-7 mm in diameter; axils without wool, but sometimes with a few more or less setose bristles. Tubercule arrangement: 8 - 13
Central spines: 1 to 4 brown needle-like ascending, dark brown or black, the lowest one elongated (up to 1.5 cm. long), hooked at apex or sometimes straight;
Radials: 11 to 18 obscuring the tubercles, 7-14 mm long, needle-like rather stout, spreading, dull white with dark tips.
Flowers: Wide funnelform purplish pink (White and yellow varieties are mentioned) inodorous 3 cm in diameter. Outer perianth-segments greenish or sometimes pinkish; margins somewhat scarious; inner perianth-segments narrowly oblong, nearly white with a brown stripe down center; style pink, twice as long as the pink filaments; stigma-lobes 8, linear, pointed, green;
Blooming season (Europe): April, In cultivation the flowers remain open for several days (at least three).
Fruit: Pale scarlet, clavate, 14 to 18 mm. long;
Seeds: 1 mm. in diameter, constricted below, black with a large elliptic basal hilum.
 

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Mammillaria swinglei (Britton & Rose) Boed.

Scientific name:  Mammillaria sheldonii (Britton & Rose) Boed.

First description: by Britton & Rose, The Cact. 4: 156 (1923).
 
Origin:  Sonora, Mexico Altitude up to 1.200 m.

Conservation status:  Listed in CITES appendix 2.

Synonyms:

• Neomammillaria swinglei
• Mammillaria inaia
• Mammillaria  swinglei var diabloa

Cultivation: This plant blooms easily and needs lots of light. Use pot with good drainage and a very porous mineral-based potting mix. Pot plants are quite wet-sensitively, especially in light of its small root system. Water sparingly during the growing season, let soil dry in between to prevent root rot, keep very dry in winter.  Feed with a high potassium fertilizer  in summer.
Usually it is recommended to overwinter this plant in a bright and warm greenhouse with at least 8-10° C , but it proved to be quite frost resistant (if kept dry it hardy as low as -7° C) A resting period in winter and strong light are necessary so that it can flower properly. Plants will offset readily, and dense clumps can be produced in a very few years.

Propagation: Through seeds and cuttings.

Photo of conspecific taxa, varieties, forms and cultivars of plants belonging to the Mammillaria sheldonii complex (This Taxon has lots of synonyms ( like many other cacti), with several controversial varieties and subspecies, and comprises a multitude of different forms, but where each form is linked to others by populations of plants with intermediate characteristics):

• Mammillaria sheldonii
• Mammillaria swinglei (M. sheldonii)
• Mammillaria pseudoalamensis (M. sheldonii)

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.